Dierre Hill Jr Wins Prep Redzone IL Player of Year

The Prep Redzone Illinois Player of the Year is Belleville Althoff running back Dierre Hill Dierre Hill 6'0" | 185 lbs | RB Belleville Althoff | 2025 State IL Jr.  He moved up to the #1 overall spot in the 2025 class which as a running back puts him in rare air.  Well, he is a truly special running back.  Hill is one of the best backs to come out of Illinois in a long time.

Hill grew up in Centralia near the town where I went to high school.  I was told about him the first time as a 7^th grader by one of my best friends as this elite multi-sport athlete in basketball, track, and his best sport might be football.  Hill opted to play his first two years of high school in St. Louis at Vashon where he became a national recruit.  Then transferred back to the state attending Belleville Althoff his final two years where he has put up historic numbers.

The Oregon commit picked a perfect fit to his style of play as well.  He is a quick back that can cut on a dime then accelerate with home run hitting ability.  His vision and ability to set up blocks is advanced for his age.  Breaks tackles with spin moves and jump cuts on a regular basis.  Also can contribute as a pass catcher out of the backfield or slot as well.  He is the first player in a long time at the high school level in Illinois that every time he touches the ball no matter where on the field he can realistically score a touchdown.

Yes they do play in 1A, but he proved early in the season against 8A Belleville East who has legit college prospects on their defense the competition level didn't matter one bit!  He led his team to a win against the much larger school 49-21 going for 311 yards and 4 touchdowns on just 11 carries for an average of 28.2 yards per carry.  As would become the norm he would score his touchdowns from way out including 56 yards, 86 yards, 55 yards, and 18 yards.

We saw him again in person against Alton Marquette where Althoff manhandled them 49-0.  In just one half of action Hill had 4 carries for 126 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns.  That is 31.5 yards per carry.  He was a man among boys on the field.

Then we caught him against Camp Point Central in his final home game.  This was the 1A state semis against the team that knocked them out the previous season.  He left no doubt in this one as he led Althoff to the 58-19 win.  Once again it was a complete video game as he had 321 yards on 12 carries and 5 touchdowns along with a pair of two point conversions.  That is 26.8 yards a touch including a long run of 99 yards in the third quarter to seal their trip to Bloomington.

In the state final against Lena-Winslow he completely obliterated their defense doing anything he wanted.  Check this out he went for 438 rushing yards on 32 carries (13.6 YPC) and 1 catch for 80 receiving yards.  518 total yards and 7 TDs in the state championship game!

On the season Hill finished with 155 carries for 2,588 yards (16.7 YPC) and 40 touchdowns.  Congratulations to Dierre on winning the Prep Redzone Player of the Year.