As someone who served in the Air Force for three and a half years out of high school, Camp Tontozona’s team-bonding experiences were nothing new for Christian Hill.

Instead, the adjustment comes in the fact that fall camp marked the beginning of what is technically just his second full season of organized football. Hill tallied 18 tackles and eight sacks during his freshman year at Glendale Community College, but an injury cut his sophomore season short.

Still, he committed to ASU over Oregon and other schools as a four-star prospect and the No. 27 JUCO player in the country, according to Rivals.

The junior defensive lineman is listed at 6-foot-5, 285 pounds. His physical ability is obvious, but he said he is polishing the technique to take him to the next level.

Overthinking his role was an issue when camp started, Hill said.

“I was trying to do a lot of the jobs that I shouldn’t be doing at all,” he said. “Watching film and all of that, everything starts to get simple, you start to understand it more…I’m not thinking so much.”

Trying to do too much on the field was a problem he had since he started playing football. He said it stems from not trusting one’s teammates.

That issue has since been resolved.

“I think my main point when I first started playing football was me more thinking every play was mine,” Hill said. “On a football field, one person is supposed to make a play. Now being here and understanding that someone has a job and somebody is right behind me and they’re filling their gap, it makes things a lot easier.”

Hill has been doing a fair share of learning from his teammates. He may be older in age than fellow junior defensive lineman Tashon Smallwood, but he said Smallwood has taken him under his wing and helped him learn the defensive tackle position. He is grateful to be forming a good relationship with and learning from Smallwood, who led ASU’s defensive line with 43 tackles in 2015.

The two bonded so much so that both actually stayed together after practice — something Smallwood is known for — and walked through different aspects.

Although Hill is a newcomer, defensive line coach Joe Seumalo said he has already been a team leader in some ways.

“With all that military background he has, that’s good for everyone else to see,” he said. “In terms of being in front of the line and being first.”

Seumalo described Hill’s work ethic as “consistent” and said he is in the same category as the other defensive linemen who are fighting to get playing time.

Head coach Todd Graham said Hill has a lot to learn technique-wise, but noted that he had a good four days during camp and will only get better.

“He’s a guy that’s going to be an asset for us,” Graham said. “His ceiling is high.”

On the heels of his first Camp Tontozona — one where ASU only practiced at the camp fields once and returned to Tempe early due to rainfall — Hill said the old-school vibe of living in the cabins with no cell phones brought him back to his basic training days for the Air Force.

Another aspect that reminded him of his time in the military was Graham’s focus on discipline and organization, which he said he appreciated because he values structure in his life.

And when reflecting on the bonding done throughout the week, the team bonfires came to mind.

“It’s those moments where it’s lights out and people share their stories,” Hill said. “Then you get to understand the person in front of you a lot more.

“It’s that bonding time when you get to talk and you get to share your story, it’s a beautiful thing.”