Florida Receivers Coach Aubrey Hill Resigns
Florida‘s Aubrey Hill has abruptly resigned from his duties as the Gators’ wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator, just one day after the team started preseason camp.
Hill, who resigned for “personal reasons,” has been linked to imprisoned Miami Hurricanes booster Nevin Shapiro, who is at the center of an ongoing NCAA investigation into impermissible benefits and flagrant recruiting violations at the University of Miami.
Yahoo! Sports’ investigative reporter Charles Robinson, who broke the story about Hill’s involvement in the Miami scandal, speculated that the coach’s resignation is tied to the NCAA investigation.
In an interview with Yahoo! Sports, Shapiro alleged that Hill, who was the wide receivers coach at Miami from 2008-2010, brought high-profile recruits to Shapiro’s mansion on a recruiting trip in 2008. Two of the recruits, Dyron Dye and Ray-Ray Armstrong, later signed with the Hurricanes; the third, Andre Debose, is currently on the Florida roster.
More recently, former Miami equipment manager and Shapiro associate Sean Allen implicated Hill in reports of alleged violations in recruiting current Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.
Hill has denied any wrongdoing while on the Miami coaching staff.
In a statement, Gators head coach Will Muschamp said: “Aubrey informed me he was resigning for personal reasons that have nothing to do with the University of Florida. Aubrey didn’t want to be a distraction to our team and our football program and he thought it was best for him to move on.”
Hill, a Miami native, played college football for the University of Florida. He was the wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator at Miami under Randy Shannon from 2008 until 2010, when he was hired by the Gators.
Florida’s offensive coordinator Brent Pease and graduate assistant Bush Hamdan will take over responsibility for the receivers for the 2012 season.
“I feel confident that Coach Pease and Coach Hamdan will step right in and provide the wide receivers with the coaching and teaching they need to be successful,” Muschamp told the media.
“Coach Hamdan played quarterback for Coach Pease at Boise State and is the most familiar of anyone on our staff with the terminology and philosophy of coach Pease’s offense. He played a key role in installing our offense this past spring,” Muschamp said.
Hill’s loss will be felt more strongly on the recruiting trail. According to InsideTheGators.com recruiting analyst Blake Alderman, four-star wide receiver commit Rodney Adams was “shocked” by Hill’s resignation and has said he will re-open his recruitment. Ahmad Fulwood, another four-star receiver, said on Twitter that he remains “110% committed” to Florida.
