HOUSTON COUNTY, Ga. — It wasn't more than a few years ago that Trey Hill was playing his games at Freedom Field as a difference maker on the offensive line for the Houston County Bears.
But now, in just his rookie season in the NFL, Hill is headed to the Super Bowl with the Cincinnati Bengals.
When Houston County High School made the classification jump from 5A to 6A, Hill was there, ready for the challenge. This weekend, it's a challenge on a totally different level; the Bengals are back in the Super Bowl for the first time in 33 years.
“You know when you're a family that cares about your kid, it's always important,” said former Houston County head coach Von Lassiter. “But football's really important to the Hill family, so I know they are really excited about this weekend.”
“Excited” would be a slight understatement.
“When he was in elementary school, he wrote me this letter,” said Hill’s mother, Lillie. “He said, ‘Mom I want to be a pro football player.’ And he made his dream come true.”
Hill comes from a family full of successful football players. It began with his own father and continued with his brother Derrick, who won the 2004 Division II National Championship with Valdosta State.
Naturally, for the first in the family to actually make it to the NFL, the stakes are high.
“Actually we're still tough on him,” Derrick Hill said laughing. “We're relentless. We stay on the gas as they say. I think he definitely appreciates it.”
Family comes first in the Hill house -- but family and football are one in the same.
“From my dad, to seeing my bigger brothers, to my little brother, to my nephews and everybody. It's just a generation thing,” said Hill’s sister, Amelia. “It's going to be big for us for a long time because we got the little ones growing up, they're doing their thing.”
They’re doing their thing – and also taking notice of what big brother Trey will be doing on Sunday.
“He wants to go to the Super Bowl because all his life he's been playing football, he's been playing since he was little,” said Hill’s brother, Jayden. “He's a person I love a lot.”
When kickoff finally arrives on Sunday in Los Angeles, Hill will line up opposite former Dodge County Indian, Leonard Floyd. Floyd is an outside linebacker for the Los Angeles Rams.
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