Imposing FIU football recruit with unusual nickname is used to chopping down opponents

Cornerback Demetrius “Chop” Hill, who is one of FIU’s newest recruits, is getting stronger every day.

Just ask his neighbors.

Hill, who is already physically imposing for his position at 6-2 and 195 pounds, lives in a house in the Brownsville section of Miami. When the pandemic hit in March and halted his ability to go to gyms, Hill started working out in his front yard — every day at 8 a.m.

“It sounds like something’s breaking when I drop the weights on the grass,” said Hill, who can bench press 225 pounds five times. “The neighbors usually come outside, and they are surprised. Judging by how their faces look, they react as if it were an earthquake.”

Hill wants to make that same type of explosive impact at FIU, starting in 2021.

As a junior last year at Miami Springs High, Hill had an impressive 17 pass-deflections, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He also chopped down 48 ball-carriers, including 31 solo tackles.

“I’m aggressive,” said Hill, who does not know why he got the childhood nickname of Chop. “I love hitting.”

Hill, who turns 18 in November, is such a big hitter that recruiting services such as 247 Sports and ESPN.com project him as a safety, a position he has not played. Only Rivals.com lists him at cornerback, the position Hill said is “correct.”

But it’s not just two of the major recruiting services who see him as the line of a defense.

Miami Springs coach Mario Montoya said Hill — who also had offers from Florida and FAU and recruiting interest from Penn State — could grow into a 6-3, 220-pounder over the next year or two.

“He’s a big, athletic kid who could be a safety with great range at the next level,” Montoya said. “He has a crazy vertical leap and runs with long strides.”

Hill is so athletic that he also serves as Miami Springs’ starting quarterback. He passed for 1,500 yards and 12 touchdowns last year and also ran for three scores, but he won’t be playing QB in college.

Montoya, who is entering his ninth season at Springs — including his second as head coach after a seven-year run as defensive coordinator — reconnected with Hill in 2019.

Hill played with Springs as a freshman before transferring to Champagnat and then coming back to play for Montoya.

At Champagnat, Hill took a hit to his right shoulder while playing quarterback and missed the entire season. That painful injury — a separated shoulder — healed last year, when Hill’s heroics kept Springs from what might have been a winless season.

“He saved us,” Montoya said of Hill. “We only went 3-7. But without [Hill and wide receiver John Bennett], we don’t win those three games.”

Hill, who committed to FIU on July 18, has been a Panthers fan since the eighth grade.

He likes how FIU’s coaches develop their cornerbacks, mentioning two players from the 2019 team in particular: Stantley Thomas-Oliver, who was drafted in the seventh round by the Carolina Panthers; and Isaiah Brown, who signed as an undrafted free agent by the Buffalo Bills.

The other factor in Hill’s decision is FIU’s marine biology program.

“Most athletes take easy classes,” said Hill, who has a 3.1 grade-point average at Springs. “But if football doesn’t work out, I want to still make a positive change.

“With marine biology, I’ve read that only five percent of ocean life has been discovered. I want to be part of more discovery.”

In the meantime, FIU may have discovered a terrific cornerback … or a safety for 2021.