Ryan Hill fires a pass during the Blue and White game. (Post Photo by Kacy Kincaid)
By CHRIS SIERS
csiers@bedfordcountypost.com
Last season, then-sophomore Ryan Hill suffered a knee injury that sidelined him for the majority of the season.
Since then, Hill has been working through rehab and hopes a preseason quarterback battle can help bring out the best of his game.
“My injury was a torn ACL a meniscus and it happened in the first game at Watertown. It was the start of the fourth quarter, I was rolling out to my left and had pressure so I reversed back the other way,” Hill said.
“I had a pretty good run but at the end, I had one guy behind me and one in front of me, so I cut to go out of bounds and while doing that I was getting pushed and all I felt was my knee pop and it instantly started hurting. I could walk on it and honestly didn’t think it was that bad. I was in shock after hearing the MRI results and that I’d have a 8-12 month recovery.”
That diagnosis was the worst given to any athlete and Hill realized he would have to lead the Rockets from the sideline as he recovered from his injury.
“Sitting for the rest of the season was definitely not the outcome I was looking for. Wishing I could be out there helping the team was harder than the surgery, but I still found other roles within the team, being someone to cheer them on and helping the coaches out as much as I could,” he said.
But within the injury and recovery period, Hill knew he had to put in the work and fight to come back stronger than ever.
“This year I’m definitely striving to make an impact and help the team win as many games as possible. Being out last year and wanting to be able to play has been a huge motivator to focus on getting back to where I left off, it is making this year mean so much more to me than it ever has before.” he said.
While physical therapy and recovery exercises could be the most difficult for some athletes recovering from an ACL injury, for Hill, the hardest part was trusting the recovery process and not rushing back too soon.
“The hardest part of my recovery was being patient. I’d leave PT feeling like I was able to come back but knowing I couldn’t,” he said.
From cross training on a bike, to balance coordination and strength building, Hill has put in the work needed to fully recover from the injury a season ago.
Earlier this spring, Forrest hired coach Justin Palmer and with the new coach comes a new offense for Hill as well.
“Learning the new offense while rehabbing definitely wasn’t easy because I knew coming into this season I would have to fight back for the spot as a starter. But with that being said, it helped put me in the position to have a better shot at that spot since it was new to everyone,” he said.
“The whole team was equal and no one had a set spot yet, so it made me work harder and harder to get stronger and learn this new offense as quick as possible.”
Hill has been in a battle through the preseason with senior Aiden Cantrell, who took over last season following Hill’s injury.
And while the position isn’t set, Hill feels the competition brings out the best of both quarterbacks.
Fighting for the starting spot is definitely a fun battle because I like the competition and being able to be humble with myself and know that I’m going to have to prove to Coach Palmer I’m not worried about my leg, and that I can make the right reads and guide the team to victory and guide the team to a great season,” he said.
Forrest is set to begin the season on August 23 and will host Watertown in Chapel Hill.
