WILDWOOD – High school football doesn’t have free agency, thank goodness.

But if it did, Wesley Hills would be among the most coveted players.

A 6-3, 220-pound freak of an athlete, Hills rushed for nearly 1,300 yards, caught 23 passes and scored 14 touchdowns last season as a junior.

He’s without question one of the top talents in South Jersey, and has received strong college interest from Old Dominion, Delaware, Bowling Green, Boston College and James Madison, with Rutgers showing mild interest.

“It’s great,” Hills said of the recruiting process. “It shows all my hard work is starting to pay off. I’m glad (college) coaches are starting to notice.”

Hills, however, does not hail from one of the big football factories around the region. He’s from right in this area, plying his trade at Wildwood High School.

Hills is a major reason why optimism is running high for the Warriors in the preseason. A program that regularly struggles with depth, size and experience, Wildwood won a pair of games last season and was competitive in a couple of others. Facing a relatively manageable schedule and featuring a player with the pedigree of Hills, this could be a rather interesting season for the team that calls venerable Maxwell Field home.

Hills, who, like many of Wildwood’s players, will also start on the defensive side of the ball, enters this season as a marked man, thanks to the close to 2,000 all-purpose yards he produced last season.

“He’s the best running back in our league (the Tri-County Classic Division), him and the kid from Gloucester, Ben Boyer. They’re the two best by far,” said Wildwood coach Rich Hans. “His speed is his biggest asset. He takes one stride and he gets five yards. He’s got a quick burst. Usually it takes a long, lanky kid a while to get going, but not him. And his vision is unbelievable. His vision has gotten better every year.”

A starter since his freshman season, Hills posted 1,294 yards on only 189 carries for a 6.85 yards-per-carry average in 2011, becoming the first Wildwood player since 1999 to run for more than 1,000 yards in a season.

Hills has a gift of size and speed but has developed another rather important talent as well.

“His ability to make something out of a broken play is awesome,” Hans said. “He does it all the time. When a play is broken down, he cuts back against the grain and he’s gone.

“He just did it (last week) in our scrimmage (against Gateway). There was a broken play with a fumble on a bad pitch and he just ran over, picked it up and went 70 yards for a touchdown.”

Hills will be used in a variety of ways this season. In addition to his strong-side linebacker duties on defense and playing tailback on offense, Hills is expected to also at times line up in the slot, out wide or even at fullback.

“We’re going to move him around as much as we can and try to get him the ball all over the place,” Hans said. “But not only will he be helping us out but when he’s not in the play he’ll be a decoy for us and that’s going to open up other parts of our game.”

Hills already understands opposing teams will be extremely focused on stopping him.

“It’s going to be tough for me, but it might be great for my teammates,” he said. “If everyone’s keying on me, it’ll open doors for my team.”

Hills, also a standout basketball player who averaged nearly 12 points per game as a junior, will need improved academics top qualify for the Division I or Division I-AA college level. Hans said Hills’ grade-point average in his core courses is in decent standing but that he needs to bring up his SAT score. Hills is currently taking SAT prep classes in advance of his next test in the fall.

On the field, Hills is focused on leading the Warriors to a breakout season.

“A lot of people think it’s going to be a good year for us,” Hills said. “Everyone’s really into it. I think everyone should expect good things from Wildwood football.”