To Hill and Back: Kelton Hill’s Season of Redemption

       Modern day sports pages are overflowing with tales of star athletes who wasted their talent and opportunity because of poor judgment off the field. Last summer, Georgia State quarterback Kelton Hill II nearly became one of those stories. Despite reaching the halfway point towards earning his degree in education, Hill learned a valuable lesson this summer that couldn't be taught in a classroom.

     Along the way, Hill also took an unlikely path from running Georgia State's practice squad in September to breaking numerous offensive records over the final five weeks of the regular season as the starter.

      Actually, Hill almost didn't wind up at Georgia State. After passing for 3,993 yards, running for 1,688 yards and scoring 54 touchdowns in his final two seasons at Lithia Springs High School, Hill received offers from bigger Division I programs. However, his father, Kelton Sr., didn't want him to stray too far from home.

       Hill was also a very good baseball player. So good in fact, that Kelton Sr. envisioned his son playing college baseball. Some schools even offered Kelton dual scholarships to play both sports. Ultimately, Hill's choices came down to playing football at powerhouses such as Appalachian State, Alabama State, Middle Tennessee State and Georgia State. When it came time for Hill to commit to a college, he consulted Kelton Sr. 

       "We started going on visits and he decided he wanted to stay close to home because he wanted his family's support," says Kelton Sr.  "He liked what Georgia State was doing and wanted to play for Coach [Bill] Curry after hearing about him."

      As a freshman, Hill's only snaps came from the Panthers' wildcat packages and he threw the ball just 15 times but led the team in rushing yards.

     After the conclusion of spring practices Hill emerged as the presumptuous starter for the 2011 season opener against Clark Atlanta. However, this summer everything nearly came crumbling down.

     On June 22, Hill was arrested by Georgia State University Police and charged with felony forcible entry in connection with a June 17 campus burglary. According to a police report, Hill entered the room of a student through an unlocked window and stole a laptop. Hill was released on a $10,000 bond, and was removed from the team's roster. The university also suspended Hill and the majority of observers outside the program thought Hill's days as a Georgia State student, much less the starting quarterback were done.

      "Having a son, who has never, ever, ever got into trouble, never suspended from school, never had to go to the principal's office, it was very shocking when I first learned of it," says Kelton Sr. "It was shocking to us. I'm sure anybody that knew him didn't think that he would even put himself in position to get in trouble."

     Fortunately, the charges were later dropped by the Fulton County District Attorney, who stipulated in a letter to Georgia State President Mark Becker that Kelton must graduate from college within the next four years.

    Coach Curry had stipulations of his own before Hill could fully rejoin the team.

     Curry wanted Hill apologize in front of the team, show remorse and tell his teammates that he'd made a terrible mistake which he would learn from.

     After initially choking up and walking off the auditorium stage, Hill gathered himself and returned to deliver an emotional apology.  Hill also asked to re-establish himself as the leader his teammates knew him to be. They reacted by jumping up, hollering and immediately began embracing their once-again teammate.

     Although Hill didn't see any significant game action until midway through Georgia State's defeat against Houston, he eventually became one of the brightest spots of the Georgia State offense. During the final five games of the season, Hill performed brilliantly with his combination of running and throwing ability.

     "His accuracy has improved, his leadership has improved and he has come through some personal adversity this year, as have all our quarterbacks, in a way that makes us real proud of him, but we just want him to continue," says Curry.

     In the meantime, Hill has averted trouble off the field, but because of his slim frame, Curry has emphasized that his 185-pound quarterback must also learn to avoid collisions on the gridiron.

    "Trying to tackle him in the open field is almost impossible. He is gifted," says Curry. "He's not a quarterback that runs out of bounds or slides. He picks a linebacker out and tries to hurt him. And usually it doesn't hurt the linebackers at all but it hurts Kelton."

     Not only do Kelton Jr. and Sr. share a name but they also remain gracious towards Curry. Despite his reserved personality, Hill. heaped plenty of praise on Curry.