Hill thriving as 49ers starting QB
12/25/2007 -
By Doug Orth
PA SportsTicker Staff Writer SAN FRANCISCO (Ticker) -- From unwanted quarterback to starting
signal-caller, it's a theme that is gaining a lot of mileage in
the National Football League nowadays. The latest rags-to-riches story? San Francisco 49ers
quarterback Shaun Hill. Hill is just the latest "retread" quarterback to make good on
his shot, notching wins in his first two career starts - a 20-13
victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on December 15 and a 21-19
win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. Hill's chances at any sort of meaningful success in the league
appeared to be slipping away after taking all of two snaps in
five-plus seasons in the NFL. And to be fair, those two were
the final plays of the 2005 NFL season in which he took a knee
both times for the Minnesota Vikings. Undrafted coming out of the 2002 draft after he led Maryland to
its first Atlantic Coast Conference title since 1985, Hill
signed with the Vikings out of college before signing with San
Francisco prior to the 2006 season. With the 49ers, he was stuck
behind Alex Smith, the overall top pick of the 2005 draft, and
longtime veteran Trent Dilfer on the depth chart. Smith was lost for the season with a shoulder injury in a Week
10 loss to the Seattle Seahawks and Dilfer suffered a concussion
in a Week 14 loss to the Vikings, thus opening the door for
Hill. The six-year veteran has responded in the two wins as he has
completed over 61 percent (32-of-52) of his passes for 320 yards
and thrown for four touchdowns against just one interception. In fact, his three-touchdown game against the Buccaneers was the
first such game by a 49ers quarterback since Smith accomplished
the feat in Week Five of the 2006 season. So impressed with Hill's two-game stretch that San Francisco
coach Mike Nolan has said he would like to give him a chance to
compete for the 2008 starting quarterback position with Smith.
That is, of course, if he is re-signed by the team - Hill is a
free agent after the season. Hill is just the latest example of a quarterback that was
drafted late - or not at all - and needed to persevere to earn
his chance to start in the league. Cleveland Browns starting quarterback Derek Anderson was drafted
in the sixth round by the Baltimore Ravens before he was
reluctantly let go before the 2006 season. Anderson now has his
new team on the cusp of playoff contention. And Hill needs to look no further than his counterpart last
week, Tampa Bay quarterback Jeff Garcia, to find another player
who has carved a fine career for himself after getting passed
over by all of the talent evaluators in the league. No matter what happens to him, Hill has at least one very
prominent fan on his team - San Francisco's first-round
selection in the 2006 draft, tight end Vernon Davis. "I think he is terrific," Davis said of Hill. "He knows how to
get you the ball and he makes the right reads." The consummate professional, Hill will let time tell what his
future holds. "I'll worry about next season - next season," Hill said. "We
still have a tough game left against Cleveland and that's what
I'm worrying about now. I'm just trying to earn the right to
play next week."
|