Arkansas RB Rodney Hill blames ‘bad agent’ for leaving FSU

Former Florida State commit Rodney Hill blames a “bad agent” for his circuitous path through the transfer portal at Arkansas.

Hill, who served as the Seminoles’ No. 3 tailback and kick returner last season, told Arkansas media on Friday that he was forced to leave Florida State after coaches there learned an agent was contacting other teams to gauge interest in Hill. Entered the transfer portal.

Hill said his parents hired the agent, who then texted coaches from other programs purporting to be Hill.

“When it came back to the head coach, I had to leave Florida State,” Hill told the Fort Smith Southwest Times Record.

A Florida State source confirmed the initial details of Hill’s account but would not say whether there were additional mitigating circumstances surrounding his departure.

Hill had 77 carries for 334 yards and two touchdowns and five catches for 83 yards in two seasons at Florida State as a four-star recruit (No. 235 in the ESPN 300) in 2022 out of Statesboro, Georgia.

After leaving Florida State in December, Hill committed to Florida A&M after Rattlers coach Willie Simmons left to become Duke’s running backs coach. Hill then committed to Miami, decommitted once more and returned to Florida A&M, where he said he took classes and worked out with the team before entering the transfer portal again.

“At that point when I had to leave, I wasn’t trying to leave, I didn’t want to leave, so I had to leave, and the portal was closing,” Hill said. “Florida A&M was next door (in Tallahassee), so I had to go there for a month, find a new place.”

Hill eventually landed at Arkansas, where he could be part of a running back rotation in a role similar to his use at Florida State.

He said he now has a new agent, Joe Hernandez of Just Win Management, but thinks his story should be a cautionary tale for young players hiring their own agents to take a more active role in the process and be more careful in their hiring. Considering the subject. practice

“From my perspective, I know it’s your parents and things like that, but sometimes you have to handle it yourself,” Hill said. “Sometimes, like my parents, I know they were trying to do the best thing for me, but sometimes you have to take it on yourself and do it yourself. But for other kids, I’d just say you don’t have to get an agent right now.”