Former Michigan safety Delano Hill is now a Seattle Seahawk, and he couldn’t be happier. The Seahawks took him with the No. 95 pick overall, late in the third round, after most projected Hill would go in the fifth or sixth round.
Head coach Pete Carroll has big plans for his new safety.
"We won't be hesitant to see how he matches up with wide receivers, so that's a good thing for him," Carroll told SeattlePI.com. "But there's no question he can play safety, so we would stay strong and free. He looks more like a hitter. He's really physical. Might be a little bit more like [Kam Chancellor's] style."
NFL.com agreed in its pre-Draft assessment.
“Hill has the size and physical demeanor to get a quality look from a team as a box safety, but his lack of coverage quickness and ball production won't help his chances. Hill will have to open eyes on special teams and as a lights out, downhill tackler to become an NFL factor.”
Coincidentally, Hill said Chancellor was one of the players he patterned his game after.
"I like to take a little bit from everybody, especially Kam because he's one of the best safeties in the league," he said a conference call. "I'm going to get after it. I'm going to play every down hard.
"I was happy [to go to Seattle]. I was excited. That was one of the places I wanted to be, so I was excited … because of the fans, the winning tradition. The fans are crazy, the 12s [twelfth men] are crazy. I want to play in an atmosphere like that, I love that atmosphere … it reminds me of Michigan.”
Hill is friends with Seahawks defensive end Frank Clark and running back Thomas Rawls, who both played at Michigan, and fellow third round pick Amara Darboh. He said he’d do whatever it took to see the field early.
"You have to play special teams at Michigan, so I'm used to it. I get after it on special teams," he said. “I'm basically going to come in and compete … come in and I'm going to compete to the best of my ability."
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