We have learned from sources that former Gator receiver and assistant receiver trainer Aubrey Hill has passed away. Sources tell us that Hill has been battling an illness, but that he keeps things to himself. He was 48 years old when he passed away.
Hill’s freshman season coincided with Gators’ first official SEC Championship in 1991. He also won an SEC Championship in 1993 and 1994.
Gator Great Shane Matthews was Hill’s quarterback at Florida during the first two seasons that Hill was on campus. Matthews has fond memories of his friend and said he was about to join Matthew’s podcast to talk some football and Gators soon.
He’s as good a boy as you’ll ever find, a great teammate, just a great boy, Matthews said. “It hurts. There is no question of that. I spoke to him briefly a few months ago to try to get him on my podcast. He told me he went through a lot of chemo. He would come back to me. He listened to the show all the time and absolutely wanted to finally come in August.
I did not know the seriousness, but every time you take chemo it is not good. I do not know much about what happened. He’s just a good boy. Good teammate.
During his time on campus, Hill developed a reputation as a team leader and clutch receiver. Forty of his first 53 receptions gave the Gators a first down. He ended his career with 86 career receptions and 18 touchdowns. The 4.78 reception / touchdown ratio was still at the moment the second-best in school history behind only Wes Chandler (4.18).
The legendary coach Steve Spurrier from Florida was really fond of Hill and the attacking guru thought enough of Hill to name attacking plays after him.
“He was one of those guys who named a play after him. Coach Spurrier only has a handful of guys he calls games and Aubrey was one of them,” Matthews said. ‘It was a formation called Tiger, our five-breadth. It could be multiple things, but it could be Blue-Draw Corkers Aubrey Post, where he runs through the middle of the field. Aubrey was the man who would come in and he would take Aubrey this as Aubrey would take that.
‘He was that reliable boy you could count on. I would not say he was a burner. Of course, he played receiver at Florida so he could run a bit, but he was not one of our faster guys. He ran good routes. He was a man you could trust and caught everything that threw his way, just a good solid footballer. Not really flashy, but when his number was called, he always came through. ”
Hill continued to coach the wide receiver at Florida under head coach Will Muschamp and coached the Gator receivers in 2011 and 2012. Prior to that, he began earning his coaching trips as GA under Steve Spurrier in Florida from 1996-98. He was the receiver coach at Duke for five years from 1999-2003. He then coached for a year at Elon College before becoming the receiving coach at Pittsburgh from 2005-2007. He then became the receiving coach and recruiting coordinator for Miami from 2008-2009 before moving to Florida for his stint with Muschamp.
Hill returned to his high school Carol City as head coach several years ago and was currently the receiving coach at FIU.
But he leaves too early a legacy of love for people and football.
“It’s hard to believe,” Matthews said. “He should only be 48 years old.”
