At this time last year, Dierre Hill Jr. was in the middle of a spectacular senior football season at Belleville Althoff that ended in a state championship.
On Saturday night, Hill was one of the key players in Oregon’s 30-24 overtime victory over host Penn State in a big showdown of Top 10 programs.
As a true freshman playing in his first prime-time college game, Hill was undaunted as he amassed a total of 94 yards and a touchdown. He rushed for 82 yards on 10 carries, including a nice 24-yard gallop in the first half. He scored the game’s first touchdown on an eight-yard reception for quarterback Dante Moore to give the Ducks a 10-3 lead with just over three minutes left in the third quarter.
Through four games this season, Hill has rushed for 270 yards on 26 carries and two touchdowns. He is averaging better than 10 yards per carry.
As a senior at Althoff, Hill was tremendous as he scored 51 touchdowns to lead the Crusaders to a Illinois Class 1A state championship. He rushed for 2,588 yards and added another 364 receiving yards. In the state championship game against Lena-Winslow, Hill scored a state-record seven touchdowns.
Hill was also an excellent high school basketball player. He started his career at Vashon, where he was a starting guard on two consecutive Class 4 state championship teams. As a senior at Althoff, he led the Crusaders to a runner-up berth in the Class 1A state tournament. He also led Vashon to the Class 4 state quarterfinals in football as a freshman.