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Park City
Stacked on a shelf behind Jay Hill's desk in Weber State's Stewart Stadium, a couple of dozen yellow legal pads document an insider's view of more than a decade of University of Utah football.
The material would make a good book someday, with a mixture of football strategy and coaching philosophy. Hill's immediate concern is a chapter yet to be written, entering his second season as Weber State's coach.
For all the information he dutifully recorded during his days of working with Ron McBride, Urban Meyer, Kyle Whittingham and Gary Andersen at Utah, there were some things Hill could learn only from his own experience as a head coach. The Wildcats lost their first nine games and finished 2-10 in 2014.
"You can't go through that process and not grow, if you're conscientious about growing," Hill said this week, during the Big Sky Kickoff media event in Park City.
So an intriguing story continues to unfold in Ogden, with the 40-year-old Hill serving as a composite character of some highly influential coaches in this state's college football history. And wouldn't you know, Weber State's 2015 schedule begins with a visit to Oregon State — now coached by Andersen.
Just to make it more interesting, Hill will start applying more of the Whittingham/Andersen defensive approach this year. With the loss of defensive coordinator Justin Ena, who joined Utah's staff, Hill personally will be more involved in the Wildcats' scheme. So he pored over those legal pads during the winter, studying blitzes and packages and, he said, rediscovering "how much football's really in them."
The stuff is not all X's and O's. A big part of Hill's second year on the job involves the team-building activities that Meyer emphasized. Meyer actually wrote a book about that subject, soon to be released.
Other than the 0-9 start, nothing that happened last season blindsided Hill. He'd watched his bosses confront problems and discuss solutions with their staffs.
"I try to reflect on how I think each of those guys would react in certain situations, whether it's right or wrong," Hill said. "You try to draw from those experiences of what you've seen them do, what you think they would do. If I didn't do that, I'm not very smart, because those guys know what the heck they're doing."
The qualifier: "You've got to put your own flair on it," he said. "You can't be a robot, just chasing what the other guys did."
Through a series of competitive, if disheartening, defeats last season, Hill stayed upbeat. "He made sure the team was never down, no matter what happened," said offensive lineman Joe Hawkins.
"As soon as the players see the coaches get frustrated and kind of lose heart, you're done," Hill said. "We had to battle through some trials to build some resilience and toughness that we need, going forward."
Any discussion of changing the culture of Weber State football is tricky, especially in this week's setting. What are the odds that Jody Sears, fired as Hill's predecessor, would become the head coach of Sacramento State, another Big Sky school? That means Sears sat nearby, as Hill was being interviewed.
Sears had a tough job, initially being hired as interim coach in 2012 after John L. Smith (McBride's replacement) left for a temporary job at Arkansas without coaching a game in Ogden. So the Wildcats keep trying to build something that lasts, and Hill is committed to the project.
He's aggressive, I know that. During a tournament at Soldier Hollow Golf Course as part of the media event, Hill pulled out his driver on every hole and never left a putt short. This guy can play a little bit, having shot an 81 this summer at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, one of the PGA Tour's toughest courses.
He also can coach, eagerly reading the greens for his teammates and encouraging them. As one of their putts rolled toward the hole, Hill would say, "That's got a shot."
Some of those putts fell; most didn't. Judging by the way he's going about it, Hill does have a genuine shot at recharging Weber State's football program. The improvement may not come as instantly as Meyer's jolt at Utah or Andersen's growth spurt at Utah State, but it will happen, eventually.
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