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OGDEN — In the years that followed head coach Ron McBride’s departure from the program due to retirement, Weber State had little consistency in the football program and a shaky ground to stand on in terms of competing in the Big Sky Conference.
Jody Sears took over the top job on an interim basis after John L. Smith reneged on a deal to be the program’s coach, but Sears was not able to get much out of the program, winning two games each season of his two-year stint there.
Enter former University of Utah cornerback and special teams coach Jay Hill.
Hill was hired in 2013 and quickly changed the culture and attitude surrounding Weber State football. In his three years with the program, Hill has fostered an environment where winning is an expectation and not some luck-filled draw. No longer was Wildcat football going to be the bottom feeder of the Big Sky Conference.
Hill started it with a better approach to recruiting: go after better talent, even if they’re not likely to sign with Weber State, rather than letting athletes fall to the program as a last-ditch effort to play football. Better recruiting leads to higher expectations, which leads to an improved winning culture.
That’s not to say that Hill and the Weber State football team has turned the corner, but the upward trajectory is in motion, as evidenced by the second-year jump in the team’s overall record. Weber State won two games its first season under Hill, but there was a sense around the program that it was an improvement to the previous two seasons under Sears.
Last season, Weber State finished with a winning record (6-5 overall, 5-3 Big Sky), which was the first time since 2010 the program had done so. More importantly, Weber State had become more of an equal in the conference and pushed fifth-ranked Eastern Washington to a 1-point win at home.
“We made huge strides and big improvements last year. This year, I want to see consistency and I want to see us continue to be tough defensively like we were last year,” Hill said during the Big Sky media day. “If we take a couple strides forward on offense, we have got a chance to be really good. Last year’s successes don’t mean anything for this year. We have got to go out and do it again.”
Now in Hill’s third season, the program is picked to finish sixth in the conference in the coaches and media poll. Additionally, four members of the team — two on offense and two on defense — have been named to the preseason All-Conference team, including cornerback Taron Johnson, linebacker Emmett Tela, and offensive linemen Calvin Steyn and Cameron Young.
On paper, the Wildcats will be favored in at least half its games, lending for a favorable season outlook and continued upward trajectory. Additionally, Weber State doesn’t have to play two of the top three teams (Montana and Eastern Washington) this season and welcome the conference favorite, Northern Arizona, to Ogden.
Weber State returns 17 starters and will have an experienced group of athletes keen on Hill’s schemes and styles of play, but the offense will need to improve if the Wildcats want to make another jump to be competitive in the conference, particularly the passing game.
Last season, the Wildcats were 10th in scoring offense, averaging 22.5 points per game, and 10th in passing offense, averaging 187.7 yards per game. In comparison, conference leader Eastern Washington averaged 353.3 passing yards per game. Additionally, the Wildcats were dead last in passing efficiency.
“We have got to throw the ball better than we did last year,” Hill said. “That doesn’t mean we have to throw for a lot more yards, but when we do throw it, we have got to throw it more efficiently.”
