Photo by: Jeremy Enlow
Engineering Marvel: DE Hill tackles science, math and quarterbacks
10/2/2019 12:20:00 AM | Football
ABILENE – Think, envision, write, and plan are the steps employed by Kameron Hill to achieve success.
As a star defensive end for the Abilene Christian football team, this process has helped him accumulate 7.0 sacks through the Wildcats first five games, and as junior engineering major, it's braced him for the rigors of calculus, statics and dynamics, and statistical methods.
Hill has done well in these and many other classes as evidence by his plus 3.00 cumulative GPA, which was strong enough to land him on the most recent Southland Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll.
He also finds himself today listed among the FCS and Southland leaders in sacks (1.4 per game), forced fumbles (0.60) and tackles for loss (1.6).
Because of Hill's innate ability to find the quarterback as well as solutions to complex mathematical equations, we thought it wise to gain his insights on how he maintains a rewarding balance as both student and athlete.
ACUSports.com: What first piqued your interest in engineering?
Kameron Hill: "I've always been a guy who likes to solve problems. I bounced around in high school (Stafford HS), where we had academies to learn a little about art, manufacturing and engineering. I started with manufacturing but moved into engineering because I liked working with my hands, thinking, and have always been curious about math and sciences.
"What really turned me on to science and math was science fiction. That interest opened some doors … Star Wars being No. 1 and post-apocalyptic sci-fi movies like Interstellar."
ACUSports.com: What projects are you working on in this field of study?
Kameron Hill: "I worked at school part time this summer in the NEXT Lab with professors Tim Head and Rusty Towell. I would go to football workouts in the morning, and then go straight to work in the lab in addition to taking an online class. I got experience working with them, learned a lot and it was real cool.
"The main thing we worked on all summer was the Fluoride Molten Salt Test Loop, where we're trying to run salt through a loop at high temperatures to create energy. When I came along we started creating the actual design of the system inside a computer program that utilized an online 3D modeling system. Basically, we were doing the math and science, trying to figure out and see how it could all work."
ACUSports.com: How do you map out your daily schedule to remain equally focused on academics and sport?
Kameron Hill: "I think during the night before about what I have to do the next morning, and I write everything down. Every single note goes down into my planner. I always try to stay two to three steps ahead mentally so when I see an assignment I think about the resources I'll need and what times I can meet with the professor to better understand the material."
ACUSports.com: With that said, do you draw similarities between being a defensive end and an engineering major?
Kameron Hill: "The positions really do correlate. In engineering, being able to map out things ahead and plan things, you can create a process to break down a problem. It's the same thing in football. We study film. We watch our opponent. We learn, dissect and exploit their weaknesses. If I'm trying to solve a math problem, I take what I'm given and try to find the right formula that provides the correct answer."
ACUSports.com: Have you inspired any teammates to become engineering majors?
Kameron Hill: "There's a couple guys (nine football engineering majors). Daytrieon Dean is ahead of me, and he gives me a lot of guidance. He can help me out with and clarify some of the things I don't know in engineering. There are some younger guys also majoring in engineering like Greg Green, in addition to some computer science majors."
ACUSports.com: Were you at all encouraged in your engineering track by (former ACU linebacker) Sam Denmark?
Kameron Hill: "Oh, yeah. When I first came to ACU I was thinking about majoring either in Kinesiology or engineering because I didn't have my mind made up that first semester. But after talking to Sam about it, asking if it was possible to major in engineering as a football player, he told me it's going to be tough but if I wanted to make the sacrifices to do it, I could do it. That gave me a boost of confidence to pursue engineering. Kalin Sadler and Cody Ennis also provided me with motivation to be an engineering major."
ACUSports.com: When the coaches talk about 'doing your 1/11th for the team,' what exactly do you envision?
Kameron Hill: "My 1/11th is simply executing my job. I don't try to do anything superhuman. I just go out there, hear the defensive call from the sideline, think about what I need to do before the play, and I get to the gap – or do the movement I need to do – I just execute it.
"(The sacks) I don't really credit those to myself. First of all I give thanks to the Lord for gifting me with these physical abilities. Also, I've had a background of great coaches that coached me up and who worked with me on things most people will never see.
"I credit my teammates too. Our defensive tackles do a good job of putting pressure on the pocket so I can come off the edge and get sacks. Then, defensive coordinator Clint Brown has done a great job of making things simpler. He came in and taught me and the other defensive ends what we need to do to get pressure on the quarterback. I'm so happy to have him here."
As a star defensive end for the Abilene Christian football team, this process has helped him accumulate 7.0 sacks through the Wildcats first five games, and as junior engineering major, it's braced him for the rigors of calculus, statics and dynamics, and statistical methods.
Hill has done well in these and many other classes as evidence by his plus 3.00 cumulative GPA, which was strong enough to land him on the most recent Southland Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll.
He also finds himself today listed among the FCS and Southland leaders in sacks (1.4 per game), forced fumbles (0.60) and tackles for loss (1.6).
Because of Hill's innate ability to find the quarterback as well as solutions to complex mathematical equations, we thought it wise to gain his insights on how he maintains a rewarding balance as both student and athlete.
ACUSports.com: What first piqued your interest in engineering?
Kameron Hill: "I've always been a guy who likes to solve problems. I bounced around in high school (Stafford HS), where we had academies to learn a little about art, manufacturing and engineering. I started with manufacturing but moved into engineering because I liked working with my hands, thinking, and have always been curious about math and sciences.
"What really turned me on to science and math was science fiction. That interest opened some doors … Star Wars being No. 1 and post-apocalyptic sci-fi movies like Interstellar."
ACUSports.com: What projects are you working on in this field of study?
Kameron Hill: "I worked at school part time this summer in the NEXT Lab with professors Tim Head and Rusty Towell. I would go to football workouts in the morning, and then go straight to work in the lab in addition to taking an online class. I got experience working with them, learned a lot and it was real cool.
"The main thing we worked on all summer was the Fluoride Molten Salt Test Loop, where we're trying to run salt through a loop at high temperatures to create energy. When I came along we started creating the actual design of the system inside a computer program that utilized an online 3D modeling system. Basically, we were doing the math and science, trying to figure out and see how it could all work."
ACUSports.com: How do you map out your daily schedule to remain equally focused on academics and sport?
Kameron Hill: "I think during the night before about what I have to do the next morning, and I write everything down. Every single note goes down into my planner. I always try to stay two to three steps ahead mentally so when I see an assignment I think about the resources I'll need and what times I can meet with the professor to better understand the material."
ACUSports.com: With that said, do you draw similarities between being a defensive end and an engineering major?
Kameron Hill: "The positions really do correlate. In engineering, being able to map out things ahead and plan things, you can create a process to break down a problem. It's the same thing in football. We study film. We watch our opponent. We learn, dissect and exploit their weaknesses. If I'm trying to solve a math problem, I take what I'm given and try to find the right formula that provides the correct answer."
ACUSports.com: Have you inspired any teammates to become engineering majors?
Kameron Hill: "There's a couple guys (nine football engineering majors). Daytrieon Dean is ahead of me, and he gives me a lot of guidance. He can help me out with and clarify some of the things I don't know in engineering. There are some younger guys also majoring in engineering like Greg Green, in addition to some computer science majors."
ACUSports.com: Were you at all encouraged in your engineering track by (former ACU linebacker) Sam Denmark?
Kameron Hill: "Oh, yeah. When I first came to ACU I was thinking about majoring either in Kinesiology or engineering because I didn't have my mind made up that first semester. But after talking to Sam about it, asking if it was possible to major in engineering as a football player, he told me it's going to be tough but if I wanted to make the sacrifices to do it, I could do it. That gave me a boost of confidence to pursue engineering. Kalin Sadler and Cody Ennis also provided me with motivation to be an engineering major."
ACUSports.com: When the coaches talk about 'doing your 1/11th for the team,' what exactly do you envision?
Kameron Hill: "My 1/11th is simply executing my job. I don't try to do anything superhuman. I just go out there, hear the defensive call from the sideline, think about what I need to do before the play, and I get to the gap – or do the movement I need to do – I just execute it.
"(The sacks) I don't really credit those to myself. First of all I give thanks to the Lord for gifting me with these physical abilities. Also, I've had a background of great coaches that coached me up and who worked with me on things most people will never see.
"I credit my teammates too. Our defensive tackles do a good job of putting pressure on the pocket so I can come off the edge and get sacks. Then, defensive coordinator Clint Brown has done a great job of making things simpler. He came in and taught me and the other defensive ends what we need to do to get pressure on the quarterback. I'm so happy to have him here."
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