Gators receivers coach Hill resigns, cites personal reasons

With Florida's fall camp set to open today, coach Will Muschamp announced wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator Aubrey Hill has resigned.

"Aubrey informed me he was resigning for personal reasons that have nothing to do with the University of Florida," Muschamp said Friday in a prepared statement. "Aubrey didn't want to be a distraction to our team and our football program and he thought it was best for him to move on. I appreciate Aubrey's efforts and wish him the best of luck moving forward. He will always remain a Gator."

Hill, who was an assistant coach at Miami for three years before joining Florida's staff in 2011, has been mentioned in two Yahoo! Sports stories investigating improper benefits provided by booster Nevin Shapiro to players the Hurricanes were targeting in recruiting.The first report broke nearly a year ago, but the NCAA is still investigating and has yet to hand down any punishment.

"I have too much love and respect for this program to become a distraction as I deal with some personal issues," Hill said. "I'm thankful for the opportunity to have worked with coach Muschamp, a tremendous staff and great group of players. The future is very bright here and the University of Florida will always have a special place in my heart."

In Hill's absence, new offensive coordinator Brent Pease will step in to coach the receivers alongside former Boise State quarterback and graduate assistant Bush Hamdan.

UF has not named a replacement recruiting coordinator, which is where the largest fallout of this news will likely come. Hill was a big name in the recruiting circles in the state of Florida and was very close with several of Florida's top-ranked verbal commitments.

UPDATE: Four-star wide receiver Rodney Adams of St. Petersburg Lakewood, who committed to Florida in February, has reopened his recruitment and has spoken to staffs from West Virginia, FSU and USF this morning, according to Rivals.com.

Links:

Hurricanes coach Al Golden's staff used booster's associate in potential recruiting violations - Most recent Yahoo! story that mentions Hill.

Renegade Miami football booster spells out illicit benefits to players - Original Yahoo! report on Shapiro.