9 thoughts: Gulf Coast's Brandon Hill excited to 'make history' at UAB

UAB's recruiting efforts continued to turn heads last week when it landed a verbal pledge from Brandon Hill, the hulking Gulf Coast offensive lineman.

Listed at 6-foot-5, 395 pounds, the former Alabama lineman said he had interest from schools such as Houston and East Carolina but felt the Blazers were a good fit.

"They're going to have something special going on and I want to be a part of it," he told the Sun Herald on Monday. "There's a lot of guys from JUCO going there, and me, I have kids, so being 2 1/2 or 3 hours from them, that's not too far to visit. It's the best situation for me."

After the offer, Hill said he knew right away he wanted to help jump start the Blazers' rebuild.

"There will be time for us to come in and bond as a team. Then we can come out, the first season back, and try to make history," he said, adding that 2016 will mostly be about getting academics in order and working on conditioning.

Hill is planning his official visit for Dec. 11. He said he expects to start at right tackle or right guard in 2017.

2. Building a class

UAB coach Bill Clark plans to sign 15 junior college players and transfers in December, then 30 more recruits in February.

Last week Clark elaborated on immediate recruiting plans to the Macon Telegraph.

"We really feel like there's a niche for these guys where maybe they're coming off of an injury or (need) to get their academics straight or just a junior college graduate so we think we're a good fit for those guys," he said.

According to Rivals.com, the Blazers already have 11 commitments for the 2016 signing class, including nine junior college standouts. Former LSU linebacker Clifton Garrett at Arizona Western is verbally committed. Former LSU defensive tackle Maquedius Bain and Michigan State defensive end Noah Jones, who were teammates at Pearl River Community College, also are committed. Perhaps the most high-profile commitment came from former Notre Dame running back Greg Bryant.

"I'm not the only person who thinks about wanting to go down in history," Hill said of the recruiting success. "I know there's a lot of players out there who want to help bring something back to the city. I'm from Memphis and people look at it like it's a dangerous city, but it's really not. A lot of people look at Birmingham like it's a dangerous city, but I want to be a part of something where I can switch that around."

3. Waiting a year

Signing with UAB could prove to be beneficial for various players who are either coming off of an injury or need to get academics in order. Because of the entire situation at UAB -- and with the Blazers not playing for another full year -- players won't lose a year of eligibility by being on UAB's 2016 roster.

4. Looking back

A two-time all-state selection at Gulf Coast, Hill said he expects the Bulldogs to be contenders again in 2017. While he was an experienced sophomore, having previously redshirted at Alabama, the majority of the Gulf Coast line were freshmen.

"This past season we came together as a team and the freshmen did a good job of stepping up," he said. "We played a lot of freshmen and I feel like next year they're going to take it all."

5. Saluting a friend

There was much more weight to Jaylen Smith's first career touchdown Saturday than most fans likely realized.

Early in the second quarter, Smith caught a pass from Louisville halfback Reggie Bonnafon for a 20-yard strike to go ahead of Virginia 10-7.

Smith had to stumble out of the side of the end zone to secure the low pass, but he held on nonetheless.

When the Pascagoula native popped up, he immediately looked to the sky, tapped his chest twice and pointed to the heavens.

The gesture acknowledged the passing of his friend and longtime teammate Keith Joseph Jr., who, along with his father, Keith Joseph Sr., died in a car accident eight days before.

Smith has had a solid collegiate debut, hauling in 25 passes for 351 yards. His receptions and yards are third on the Cardinals.

6. Tough go of it for 4-6A

The Coast's 4-6A region entered Friday with plenty of cautious optimism. Once the dust settled, however, all four teams were eliminated.

The way the teams went 0-4 was pretty surprising; Ocean Springs lost 31-20 at Oak Grove after scoring 13 points in the fourth; D'Iberville lost 41-7 at Brandon in what could be the last game in legendary coach Buddy Singleton's career; Meridian knocked off Gulfport 42-6 on the road; and Harrison Central fell 40-21 to Petal.

Friday's results shouldn't completely taint what was an entertaining regular season and dash to the finish.

7. Red Rebels

Speaking of strong finishes to the regular season, the final 6-7 mark for Harrison Central is a bit misleading for the Red Rebels, who defeated two playoff teams in D'Iberville and Ocean Springs in the final weeks to land the No. 2 seed in Region 4-6A.

"The team started off 0-3. The kids could have given up, but they kept fighting and won three big regular season games when no one thought we could," first-year coach Casey Cain said. "These guys have a lot to hold their head up about. They overcame a lot of adversity this year."

HCHS QB Tavis Williams certainly turned heads with an opened-up offense under Cain. The junior threw for 1,597 yards and 16 touchdowns, and also rushed for 804 yards and eight scores -- including two must-have mad dashes to beat Ocean Springs. When he's locked in on a receiver, he throws one of the prettier spirals in South Mississippi. If he can cut down on the turnovers (he threw 12 interceptions), he'll be one to watch again in 2016.

8. Marquee matchup

Friday will feature a rematch of 8-4A foes as Moss Point hosts region champ St. Stanislaus. The Rockachaws won the first matchup on Oct. 23 41-14. Expect a tighter game Friday as the Tigers are coming off a rather impressive 62-51 road shoot out at North Pike. Without Cal'terrius Anderson, lost to a season-ending injury, the Tigers still ran wild on the Jaguars. Omni Wells racked up 383 yards and five scores, with Travis Marion totaling 177 yards and three scores. It took a while for Wells to get going, but with the performance he has 1,358 yards on the season.

The big question is can the run-heavy Tigers score with the Rockachaws? We'll find out Friday.

9. The (Other) Patrick's Picks

For entertainment purposes only ...

• Mizzou is coming off of a nice win over BYU for coach Gary Pinkel. They won't make it two straight against Tennessee (-8, according to MGM Resorts International).
• Arkansas (-3 1/2) is playing one of the better brands of football right now. MSU is coming off of a lopsided loss where the Dogs missed chances early. I like MSU, but I think the Hogs are hot. Arkansas by 7.
• Kentucky (-24), starting its freshman QB, can still name its score against Charlotte.
• Georgia Southern (+ 14 1/2) is interesting at Georgia. The Eagles always get excited to play the Bulldogs and the matchup is a good warmup against the option for UGA. GS opened the year with a 44-0 thumping at West Virginia. It won't be that bad, but the Bulldogs still win by 21.
• Vanderbilt has played well -- minus the 34-0 blowout at Houston -- in recent weeks, but Texas A&M (-7) should have no problem beating Vanderbilt by 18.
• Like UK, Auburn (-32 1/2) will name its score against Idaho. Jacksonville State, the Vandals are not.
• Copy + paste for Florida (-31) and FAU.
• In the SEC game of the week, LSU is a four-point dog at Ole Miss. Ole Miss had an extra week to prepare and the Tigers were just humiliated by Alabama. Can the Rebels hold Leonard Fournette to his third straight sub-100-yard game? No. But Ole Miss' offense should do enough to get the Rebels a home win -- by a touchdown.

As always, thanks for reading.

Patrick Ochs, a Sun Herald sports reporter, can be reached at pochs@sunherald.com or followed on Twitter at PatrickOchs.

This story was originally published November 17, 2015 at 7:29 PM with the headline "9 thoughts: Gulf Coast's Brandon Hill excited to 'make history' at UAB ."