Monday, July 31, 2006 - Tye Hill need to get into camp. Every one and his brother knew that but as most first round picks do, Hill held out for a good contract. But that finally came yesterday as Hill rolled out of bed around noon. As the twelve hours of Sunday slowly went by Hill signed a five-year deal with the Rams.
The contract that the 15th overall pick out of Clemson signed will get him $6 million in guaranteed money and is worth $10.2 million over the five years. But if all his incentives and escalator clauses are reached, he could potentially make $12.5 million.
Hill was the most relived that the contract dispute came to an end. "I'm just glad it's done," Hill said. "I'm ready to go to work."
Hill wanted it done so bad that when he felt it was close he flew to St. Louis staying in a hotel untill the contract was finished.
“I knew it was going to get done sometime,” Hill said. “I’m glad I was already here to cut the travel out of the way. I’m ready to go at it.”
“I felt it was very important for me to get into camp as soon as possible. Lucky I did, because if I didn't, I would have to wait until (Monday), and then I would miss two practices (Monday)."
When he heard the contract was done he came right over to Rams Park and signed it. After meeting with the media and talking to Rams owner Georgia Forntiere, Hill was ready for the team meetings before 7 p.m., which did not go unnoticed by the president of football operations Jay Zygmunt.
"We all know a lot of situations sometimes when a contract gets agreed to, and suddenly the player starts packing and it takes about two or three days," Zygmunt said.
To compare, last years first round draft pick Alex Barron agreed to terms on August 10 but didn’t practice with the team until August 15. This was partly because of the Rams August 12 preseason game, and mostly because Barron was in South Carolina when the contract was finished.
The fact that Hill came to town only proves that he is anxious to be on the field with the team. Hill was actually so anxious to be with the team that he drove to Rams Park on Friday. But he said he got scared off by the sight of TV cameras there and cars in the parking lot so he quickly left.
But today Hill could not be scared off because it was his job and his responsibility to be there and at 9:17 Hill trotted onto the three outdoor fields at Rams park to practice in his first ever NFL practice.
Now that he is in camp he will work hard and try to earn a spot on the starting roster of the St. Louis Rams.
*-quotes gathered from stlouisrams.com
E-Mial Cody Kittle at RamsFanCK@hotmail.com
TYE HILL SIGNED AND IN CAMP
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