The freshman team lost only one game, to Maryland, and a traditional scrimmage with the varsity was scrapped for fear that the youngsters might embarrass the upperclassmen.
Hill continued to keep his reservations to himself, but his plans did not include the Academy. Racism aside, he wanted to drive a car and go on dates.
"If you go through all the stress of being at the Academy, the gold ring is a career as a naval officer," he said. "Did I even want that? My answer was no."
When he made his plans known, Navy coaches tried to talk his parents out of signing a release waiver. His mother clung to her dream. Finally, Hill left campus without permission and went to his father's office. "I'm not going back," he said. "And if you don't sign the form, I'll be AWOL."
That finally convinced them, and Hill became a hot recruit. His phone rang one day and on the other end was a UM assistant named Lee Corso.
"I guess you forgot what conference you play in," Hill said, alluding to the total segregation of the ACC.
"That's just the point," Corso replied. "It's time to put that to rest, and you're the right guy."
Hill just wanted to play football. He wasn't sure he wanted to be the Jackie Robinson of the ACC. But Corso kept at him, touting Maryland's wide-open passing game. Calls from black leaders followed: If you don't take this opportunity, the school might not take another shot at a black player for years.
Hill had to sit out a year as a transfer, so his arrival at College Park didn't cause much stir in the wider world. The same couldn't be said for the university, which had about 130 black students out of 30,000.
Someone painted "KKK" on Hill's Camaro. He left his dorm room one day to find a noose hanging outside. Fishman remembered telling a few teammates to back off of Hill (who had earned the linebacker's affection by tutoring him through economics).
"No one had the nerve to confront me," Hill said. "But there was not a warm and fuzzy movement to bring me to Maryland."
When Hill's first game neared in 1963, the outcry from ACC fans and coaches worsened. Officials at Clemson and South Carolina talked of leaving the conference or, at least, refusing to host Maryland.
"College football in the South was God," Hill said. "The temple was the stadium, and as far as the fans were concerned, an African-American would be desecrating that temple."
