A pair of former St. Louis area prep football stars will be in the national spotlight in the semifinals of the College Football Playoffs.
Former CBC standout Jeremiah McClellan and former Belleville Althoff standout Dierre Hill Jr. have become mainstays for the Oregon Ducks in their freshman seasons.
No. 4 seed Oregon (13-1) will take on No. 1 seed Indiana (13-0) in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Friday night in Atlanta in an All-Big Ten Conference semifinal game. The winner will earn a berth to the national championship game on January 19 in Miami.
Both McClellan and Hill emerged as big contributors in the Ducks’ potent offensive unit in their first year of collegiate competition. McClellan is a wide receiver while Hill is a running back. In his redshirt freshman season, McClellan had 33 receptions for 493 yards and three touchdowns. He is averaging 15 yards per reception. He caught six passes for 83 yards and a touchdown in Oregon’s 51-34 victory over James Madison in the first round of the playoffs.
Hill became a factor in the Ducks’ offensive backfield as a true freshman after a spectacular senior season at Althoff. As a freshman, Hill has rushed for 570 yards on 70 carries and five touchdowns while averaging 8.1 yards per carry. He also had 14 receptions for 112 yards and another touchdown. Hill had one of this top performances on September 27 against Penn State when he rushed for 82 yards and 10 carries in Oregon’s 30-24 overtime victory.
Kickoff for the Oregon-Indiana game is set for 6:30 p.m. (St. Louis time). The game will be televised on ESPN.