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David Hale, ESPN Staff Writer
Former Florida State running back Rodney Hill blames a “bad agent” for his circuitous path through the transfer portal to Arkansas.
Hill, who served as the Seminoles’ No. 3 tailback and worked on kick returns last season, told Arkansas media Friday that he was forced to leave Florida State after coaches there learned an agent had been contacting other teams to gauge interest in Hill before he’d entered the transfer portal.
Hill said his parents had hired the agent, who then texted coaches from other programs purporting to be Hill.
“When it got back to the head coach, I had to leave Florida State,” Hill told the Fort Smith Southwest Times Record.
A Florida State source confirmed the basic details of Hill’s account but could not say whether there were additional mitigating circumstances surrounding his departure.
Hill had 50 carries for 334 yards, two rushing touchdowns and five catches for 83 yards in two seasons at Florida State after arriving in 2022 as a four-star recruit (No. 235 in the ESPN300) out of Statesboro, Georgia.
After leaving Florida State in December, Hill committed to Florida A&M, then decommitted after Rattlers head coach Willie Simmons left to become the running backs coach at Duke. Hill then committed to Miami, decommitted once more, and returned to Florida A&M, where he said he took classes and worked out with the team before entering the transfer portal again.
“During that time when I had to leave, I wasn’t trying to leave, I didn’t want to leave, so I just had to, and the portal was closing up,” Hill said. “Florida A&M was next door [in Tallahassee, Florida], so I just had to go there for a month, find a new place.”
Hill ultimately landed at Arkansas, where he figures to be part of a running back rotation in a role similar to his usage at Florida State.
Hill said he has a new agent now, Joe Hernandez of Just Win Management, but he thinks his story should be a cautionary tale for younger players considering hiring their own representation to take a more active role in the process and be more careful in their hiring practices.
“From my perspective, I know it’s your parents and stuff like that, but sometimes you’ve got to handle it on your own,” Hill said. “Sometimes, like with my parents, I know they were trying to do the best thing for me, but sometimes you’ve got to take that on your own and got to do it yourself. But to other kids, I’d just say you don’t have to get an agent right now. Just wait.”
