Lavert Hill among 4 from Big Ten to make Jim Thorpe Award watch list

With Big Ten Media Days continuing today, it’s starting to feel more like college football is right around the corner.

It shouldn’t a surprise that several Michigan defensive players have made award watch lists lately. Now we can add another name to a watch list

It was announced Monday Detroit native Lavert Hill made the Jim Thorpe Award Preseason watch list

As a sophomore, Hill recorded 25 total tackles, 2 interceptions and 7 pass breakups in 2017. Because of his dominant performance last year, his name started popping up in conversations earlier this month from Pro Football Focus and NFL.com.

Below is the explanation from this story about why Lavert Hill was No. 4 on their list.

“The junior corner brings just one year of starter’s experience to the field this year, but it was a really impressive campaign. With passes defensed on almost one out of every three balls thrown his way, Hill has developed a reputation for being a pesky press-man cornerback who is able to shadow receivers on all three levels. Hill’s long speed allows him to crowd into the receiver’s chest and eliminate the catch space. Once it comes time to play the football, Hill’s timing and superb leaping ability make it extremely difficult to throw over the top of him. He’s a little lighter than teams usually want, so it will be interesting to see if he can carry more weight on his frame.”

The Jim Thorpe Award watch list is comprised of 35 defensive backs in the country. The award has been given out since 1986.

The Big Ten led the way this year with four making the list of 11 conferences represented, which included the following players:

D’Cota Dixon (Wisconsin)

David Dowell (Michigan State)

Lavert Hill (Michigan)

Jordan Fuller (Ohio State)

The last time a player from the Big Ten won the award was Desmond King from Iowa in 2015.

The winner from the three finalists will be announced on Dec. 6 on ESPN as part of the Home Depot College Football Awards.