Jamal Hill working to establish himself at nickel, "create havoc" for Oregon's defense

Jamal Hill’s philosophy for playing football is simple.

The closer he is to the ball, the greater chance he has to make an impact.

Maybe that sounds reductive. But, this spring, Hill’s nose for the ball and desire to create big plays has made him a picture-perfect figure to slot into Dan Lanning and Tosh Lupoi’s defensive scheme.

As he works to solidify his status as Oregon’s No. 1 option at nickel, Hill is placing an even greater emphasis on creating “havoc” for the Ducks. The result, according to those who watch him work every day, could mean big things for the team as a whole in 2022.

“I think one of the things about him is he’s tremendously smart,” Oregon special teams and nickels coach Joe Lorig said of Hill. “He’s got great work ethic; he works really hard. It’s really, really important to him and he spends extra time. People may or may not know this, but he’s like a football junky.”

Case in point, when Lorig arrived at the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex for Monday meetings this week, he was an hour and a half early. He figured he would be on his own in that regard, but was greeted by Hill, who had arrived at the same time, as he walked into the facility.

“He’s just a team guy,” Lorig said. “He’s someone I think the Oregon fan base can be really proud of. The stuff he does behind the scenes is pretty special.”

For Hill, that extra work has a distinct purpose. He wants to do everything in his power to put himself in a position to create havoc plays — interceptions, pass breakups, tackles-for-loss. As a sophomore in 2020, Hill showed a consistent ability to do that.

The most notable instance came in the Pac-12 Championship Game when he intercepted two passes and helped lead the Ducks to a massive win over USC. That same season, he recorded four pass breakups against UCLA.

His production declined in 2021, albeit, in a defense that had a plethora of injuries and issues.

Now, he is working obsessively to become a disruptive figure once again for the Ducks at the nickel, or “star” position.

“I feel like for me, my point of emphasis just every practice is — I ask coach Lorig to be on me about it — just running to the football,” Hill said. “I feel like if you’re around the football, you can make plays. If you’re not around the football, you’re not gonna be able to make many plays.

“I feel like that’s a lot of the reason we’ve been able to make a lot of havoc plays this spring. Really just emphasizing running to the ball as a defense.”

So far this spring, many of Oregon’s key defensive backs have been working at multiple positions. Triwkeze Bridges and Dontae Manning were both primarily cornerbacks last season, but Bridges has gotten some work in at safety, while Manning has worked at the star spot.

Bennett Williams is working at four different positions currently, and could very well be a secondary Swiss-army knife next season.

Hill, though, said he is working solely at star.

Oregon’s coaching staff feels like both Hill and Williams could potentially thrive at that spot, and Hill said they bring the best out of each other on a daily basis.

“I feel like we’re two older guys and we know how to make each other better,” Hill said. “It’s going into our third year together, and we know how to get each other better every day.”

Ultimately, whether Hill, Williams, or some combination of the two plays the majority of the snaps at nickel for Oregon next season, it sounds as though Hill very much fits the mold of what Lanning is looking for at the position.

“Jamal is coachable. He’s smart,” Lanning said. “I think those are two things that are really important in our defense. He plays with a presence on the edge. He’s one of those true guys you can say at times looks like a linebacker and plays like a linebacker but then has the skill set of a defensive back.

“So for me, a guy that can be an edge on the force, perimeter of your defense, Jamal shows that.”