Mooney’s Hill is considering KSU and YSU

By Joe Scalzo

His decision depends on an NCAA ruling regarding his eligibility status for 2009.

YOUNGSTOWN — Mooney High graduate Taylor Hill watched another sporting event from the stands on Monday.

He’s ready to stop being a spectator.

Hill, an All-Ohio defensive end for the Cardinals football team last season, is closing in on his next college choice after leaving Michigan in September for personal reasons.

He plans to choose between Kent State and Youngstown State in the next few weeks, a decision that comes down to whether the NCAA will allow him to play for the Golden Flashes next season without sitting out a year.

Hill filed an appeal with the NCAA last month and expects to a response in the next few weeks.

In most cases, players transferring to Division I-A schools must sit out a season before they can play. If the NCAA turns Hill down, he’ll likely play at YSU, which is a I-AA school and has no such restriction.

“It’s been really hard,” said Hill, who attended Monday’s Mooney-Boardman girls basketball game. “It’s been fun watching Mooney games this year, but it’s hard to sit out.

“I’m ready to play again.”

Hill originally gave a verbal commitment to Oklahoma in the summer of 2007, but began having second thoughts soon after.

He was leaning toward West Virginia until Mountaineers coach Rich Rodriguez left WVU last December to coach at Michigan.

Just before the signing deadline in February, Hill switched his commitment to the Wolverines.

After he enrolled and started practice, he began doubting his decision.

“It just wasn’t a good fit,” he said. “The distance was part of it. I was going to go to West Virginia [until Rodriguez left] and without looking into it [Michigan], I switched.

“I just wasn’t comfortable there [in Ann Arbor].”

Hill sprained the MCL in his knee during training camp but was with the team for their opener at home against Utah on Aug. 30. He left the team around Labor Day.

“Once I left, I knew I wanted to stay closer to home,” he said.

Kent State contacted him immediately and YSU contacted him about a month later, he said. He’s fully healed from the knee injury and has been working out to stay in shape.

Michigan, meanwhile, finished with a 3-9 record — the worst mark in school history — in its first season under Rodriguez, who lost several players last summer.

“I knew it was going to be a rough season, but I had no idea it would be this bad,” Hill said of Michigan.

Hill was one of five Cardinals to sign with major Division I programs in February, joining defensive back Danny McCarthy (Notre Dame), running back Brandon Beachum (Penn State), linebacker Michael Zordich (Penn State) and wide receiver Tim Marlowe (Nebraska).

McCarthy took a medical redshirt after suffering a career-threatening neck injury in the playoffs last November.

Zordich and Marlowe also were redshirted, while Beachum, who enrolled at PSU in January, had 106 yards on 27 carries with a touchdown in limited duty this fall.

Hill has some advice for potential recruits who haven’t decided where to go to college.

“Don’t make the decision under pressure,” he said. “Make sure you look into everything before you make up your mind.”

scalzo@vindy.com