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OGDEN — The word “toughness” has always been synonymous with Weber State football coach Jay Hill.
Hill was tough as a defensive back at Utah, a tough as a position coach at Utah and now, he is having to redefine how toughness is viewed at Weber State.
The Wildcats are now 0-8, and are running out of opportunities to showcase their improved toughness. A 30-17 loss to Portland State Saturday has left the team looking for answers, but Hill’s postgame analysis of the Wildcats indicates he knows where the problem is.
“I’ve got a lot to fix,” said Hill, whose Wildcats will host Northern Arizona next week in Ogden. “We’ve got to be a tougher football team. We’ve got to be more demanding as coaches, on ourselves and on our players. Right now, we’re making too many mistakes on things we should be making mistakes on.”
Weber State had the ball with the chance to tie or take the lead in the fourth quarter, but the Wildcats let the opportunity slide by after a series of inopportune mistakes. WSU has had chances in every game since the Southern Utah rivalry matchup to take a fourth quarter, but has fallen short every time so far.
Senior wide receiver Shaydon Kehano said it’s been a difficult grind for the squad.
"We've got to be a tougher football team," Weber State coach Jay Hill said.
“It’s tough,” he said. “Coming down to the wire, the last two minutes of the game, and something happens. As a team we just have to get over this.”
Last week at Montana State, Weber State played Billy Green and Jadrian Clark at quarterback. In the loss to Portland State, the Wildcats did the same thing to mixed results.
Kehano said the offense has issues to fix, regardless of who is at quarterback.
“We’ve got to eliminate turnovers,” he said. “(Quarterbacks Billy Green and Jadrian Clark) both had turnovers, but the coaches are just trying something new. Seeing if either/or could spark the team or not.”
Running back Bo Bolen, who has experienced a variety of struggles in the program like Kehano, and said the grind of losing wears on a team.
“It just sucks to lose,” he said. “I think everyone is just tired of losing.”
In light of comments like Bolen’s, Hill wants the team to stay motivated, even as the reasons to play dwindle.
“Even though it was a little uninspired football today, I thought they continued to battle,” he said. “I don’t like the way we finished the game, as far as caving. We’ve got a lot to work on, there’s no doubt.”
Kehano said it’s important for the squad, going forward, to remain as unified as possible.
“We can’t be pointing fingers. We can’t be getting down on each other,” he said. “It’s hard as a team, but in the mean time, we have to stick together and try and stay positive. “
