Independence High’s Travis Hill is Charlotte Observer’s football player of the week
He’s a senior running back who is the leading rusher for Independence High this season.
He earned all-conference honors a year ago and seems a sure thing to play college ball. And you probably think I’m writing about someone else.
No, it’s not Jayden Jones — Independence’s much-publicized running back.
Rather, we’re talking about Travis Hill, who happens to be the Charlotte Observer’s Football Player of the Week.
Jones gets most of the publicity for the Patriots, with his slashing, breakaway style. But Hill has been there when needed the past two seasons, and he’s been much more than a fill-in.
“It makes my job a little easier, having two really good backs like this,” said Patriots’ coach D.J. McFadden, whose Patriots (4-1) are off this week but have a huge Power 6 7A/8A game next Friday at West Charlotte.
Jones was injured in the Patriots’ second game of the season and missed two contests. Hill stepped in and had games of 156 yards against Charlotte Christian and 115 against Lake Norman.
Wealth of backfield talent
Last week, it was an embarrassment of riches for Independence, with both Jones and Hill in the lineup against Palisades. Jones carried for 145 yards, and Hill rushed for 101. Hill has 408 yards and four touchdowns this season.
He played the same role a year ago and finished with 515 yards, including one 100-yard game. He was named to the all-conference team.
“I suppose I could have transferred somewhere else and been the starter, but I chose to stay at Independence,” Hill said. “Coach McFadden and the relationship I have with my teammates kept me here.”
“Besides,” he added. “I feel comfortable with the role I have. I enjoy blocking, and I get opportunities to run the ball too.”
McFadden said Jones and Hill have different styles. Jones is more of a breakaway threat, while Hill is more of a power runner.
“I’m more of a downhill runner,” he said. “That’s the style I’m comfortable with.”
“And blocking is a big part of my job description,” Hill said. “It’s a chance to be selfless.”
A different type of player
McFadden said Hill is unusual in the current world of high school and college athletics.
“I really appreciate him,” McFadden said. “In today’s transfer world, he’s the kind of player you’d expect to move to a different team, where he’d run the ball more.
“But he’s a team player, and he wants to see us succeed.”
After a brief stint as an offensive lineman when he was 6, Hill switched positions.
“When I turned 7, I changed youth teams,” he said. “I wanted to run with the ball.”
He said his coach made no promises.
“He told me I had to earn it, and that he wasn’t going to hand me the job,” Hill said. “I worked for it.”
He is watching his younger twin brothers, Major and Kannon, find their way as football players.
“They’re in sixth grade, and I give them whatever advice I can,” he said. “But I think those two guys have the potential to be the best in our family.”
Hill said he and his teammates have a feeling that this could be a special year for the Patriots.
“We know about the past,” he said, referring to the school’s dominance in North Carolina prep football 20 years ago. Their coach, McFadden, was a quarterback on some of those teams.
“We know this school has a special history in football, and we’d like to add another chapter,” Hill said. “We certainly have the talent to contend for a state championship. It’ll be a matter of making sure the little things get done properly. That West Charlotte game will be our next big test.”
Previous winners
Week 1: Jad Aljakhbeer, Ardrey Kell
Week 2: Weston Michalak, Ambassador Christian
Week 3: Cam Johnson, Ambassador Christian
Week 4: Ben Dorsey, Charlotte Country Day
Week 5: Travis Hill, Independence