Stephen Hill First Impressions

[Jeremy Igo]

I attended Panthers practice today to get a look at the new practice squad member, WR Stephen Hill. Practice viewing today was limited, so I focused on the wide receivers for most of the time available.

 

My initial first impression was that he was taller than I expected. He comes across as much taller than Brenton Bersin, even though the difference on paper is only an inch.

 

 

Hill chose 87 as his number, previously work by Dominick Hixon and of course Muhsin Muhammad.

 

 

 

Overall, he looked much like the other practice squad receivers King and Lucas. He had some drops, but caught most of the balls in drills.

 

 

 

One thing I did notice that set him apart was the amount of time Ricky Proehl spent with him. Ricky was sure to correct and adjust Hill's routes and techniques every chance he could, even after the drills were finished. It is clear that Ricky intends to get Hill up to speed quickly, and maybe erase some of the bad habits he has developed. From the amount of time spent, there were plenty of those.

 

 

Ricky went over with him not only his footwork and body positioning off the line, but also bursting past defensive backs before they can press.

 

 

So, overall, to me Hill looked like the other receivers that have potential. Mostly positive, some drops, and plenty of room for improvement.

 

The big question is this: Will he pick up what he has been taught from Ricky quickly, or will he need constant correction. His "coachability" will be the main factor if he sticks on the practice squad long term or elevates to the regular roster.

[Black]

He should be living with Ricky for the first few weeks. 

[hepcat]

Proehl has got to be one of the best WR coaches in the game.  Can't wait to see what he does with all the young receivers Carolina has this year.

[htown704]

I think Ricky will be a HUGE help in his development!!  I really hope he "catches" on.  (Pun intended).

[rodeo]

It looks like he's hand catching in those photos, at least. Even in his highlights he rarely did that.

[rscott94]

Thanks! Great work as usual.

Was today a one time only thing or will you continue to see his/the teams progression?

[Jeremy Igo]

This was a drop....

 

 

 

Notice where his eyes aren't.

[2jakefansinva]

thanks for the info............DG must have liked something in this kid.

 

I'd be curious to know where he was on our draft board when he was taken.

[CarolinaSamurai]

Sticky this bad boy it deserves it very interesting

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[Pox 08]

 

 

 

 

is it me or does it look like he isn't even following the ball with his eyes?   EDIT:  Igo beat me to it.   I noticed quite a few pics from the Jets just like this one.   Where he is just mindlessly staring into the distance and not even paying attention to where the ball is.

[Nick81]

This was a drop....

 

 

 

Notice where his eyes aren't.

I've seen this before somewhere....

Yep.  Hey, if that's the problem... he can definitely be coached up, if he's coachable at all.  

[London Loves Luke]

Good luck to him, everything so far shows he's comfortable in his surroundings. Makes it much easier to learn when you're surrounded by friends.

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[teeray]

When/if he gets called up he just needs to execute two routes. Curl and go routes. Then throw him in there in situational plays and force safety to stay over the top of him.

Just use him in the Ginn role is basically what I am saying.

Like Ginn, he can be productive for our offense even without a pass being thrown his way. I am not sure we have anyone else like that right now.

I am obviously a fan of this kid and hopes he does well with us. But if not we didn't really lose anything, which makes it even more exciting

[rodeo]

Reaction speed could be potentially be another issue.

 

Yeah that's kind of what it looks like to me, as a complete novice. Like he's looking at where the ball was instead of wear it is.