FOOTBALL: Hill's numbers among AFL's best

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Du Quoin's own Nick Hill is shining bright in Florida as a Quarterback for the Arena Football League's Orlando Predators. Hill leads the AFL in total offense through 13 games with an average of 329 yards per game, is second in passing with 300.4 yards per game, and second in rushing with 28.6 yards per game.

The AFL is a passing centric league with the length of the field reaching 50 yards with only eight offensive players on the field. The field is unique because it is exclusively played indoors with heavily padded barriers on each sideline and rebound nets that resemble vertical trampolines.

Hill has collected some awards along the way, such as the Week 10 Offensive Player of the Week and the Week 13 MVP. Hill is a strong candidate for the Offensive Player of the Year award with impressive numbers including being second in pass efficiency and fifth in passing touchdowns (73). He has also added nine rushing touchdowns while leading in total offense and yards per carry (5.0 ids), all this while starting the season three weeks after having an emergency appendectomy surgery on February 23.

The AFL Offensive Player of the Year in 2010 was QB Chris Greisen of Milwaukee, who signed a NFL contract with the Dallas Cowboys and decided to forgo the 2011 AFL season.

This years' season was extended from 16 to 18 games and it concludes with the Arena Bowl Championship Game on August 12th. Last season in 16 games Hill set the Orlando Predators team records for passing yards (4,289), touchdowns (94) and rushing yards (284).

Off the field Hill has been keeping himself busy with hosting football camps and training sessions in Orlando. He was employed as a QB coach at Dr. Phillips high school but has recently taken a job as the offensive coordinator at West Orange High in Orlando. Hill has relaunched his website at NickHillFootball.com to focus on individualized training and youth football camps.

In December, Hill was a part of a pilot for a TV show on the USA Network that will debut on June 29th. The series, based on a true story is titled "Necessary Roughness" and stars Callie Thorne ("Rescue Me", "ER") and Marc Blucas ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer").