Jay Hill inherited a Weber State program in shambles. From an exodus of coaching staffs to NCAA probation to a loss of identity, the former Utah assistant took over in Ogden with a tall task in front of him.
Weber State’s ascension through the Big Sky Conference ranks has bee rapid since Hill took over before the 2014 season. His first year, Weber was competitive but only broke through for two wins. Last season, the Wildcats posted their first winning record since 2009 by going 6-5, a mark that included an overtime win at Montana, Weber’s first in Missoula since 1987.
This season, Weber State took the next step. The Wildcats won seven of their final nine games after an 0-2 start, finishing alone in third place in the Big Sky and earning an at-large bid into the FCS playoffs. Weber play at Chattanooga (Tennessee) of the Southern Conference at noon MST on Saturday afternoon.
Hill took over for a program in a state of disarray due to several unattached factors. Longtime Beehive State mentor Ron McBride, Hill’s coach during his days as a player at Utah, retired following the 2011 season. For what amounted to be not even a full off-season, famed Big Sky coach John L. Smith took the head coaching job at his alma mater. Before ever coaching a game, Smith resigned to take the Arkansas head coaching position after Bobby Petrino was fired amid a cloud of controversy.
Weber State head coach Jay Hill
The Weber State administration pinned defensive coordinator Jody Sears win an interim tag. After two straight two-win seasons, Sears was fired. Hill took over following 13 years coaching at his alma mater. Months into his tenure, the NCAA slapped Weber State with three years of probation and other sanctions that included nine scholarships over three years for the football program, imposing at least $5,000 in fines for violating ethical conduct rules.
Despite the circumstances, Hill has been able to overcome the odds by recruiting as well as any team in the Big Sky and by rapidly installing a culture based on toughness and a belief the Wildcats can win. Even if the turnaround seems rapid, if you ask Hill, he will tell you Weber still has a long way to go.
“We are behind schedule because if you can take a job and go in there and turn it around in one year and everyone thinks you are a guru, that’s ideal,” Hill said on Wednesday. “But I don’t know if that is realistic for where we were or with everything we are trying to get done with everything we were having to overcome. Put in the scenario with what we took over, we are right about where I hoped we would be at this point. We still have a long ways to go and it starts this week with the playoffs.”
Weber State entered this season with a goal to make a run at the postseason. Following a 5-3 run through the Big Sky last season that included the UM win plus a win over North Dakota, internal confidence was high. But WSU was picked to finish sixth in the 13-team Big Sky by both the conference’s coaches and affiliated media.
Weber responded from its 0-2 start with five consecutive wins, punctuated by a 37-36 victory at in-state rival Southern Utah that included 23 unanswered points over the last seven minutes of the game. WSU suffered back to back setbacks with losses at North Dakota and at home to Northern Arizona only to rally for a signature 22-15 win over Cal Poly that likely punched Weber’s playoff ticket. Weber earned its seventh with a 34-28 victory over rival Idaho State last week.
“All along, we felt if we could finish third place in the Big Sky, we would deserve to get in,” Hill said. “With the caliber of conference this is, if you finish in third place all alone in the Big Sky, you deserve to get in, especially where we had just beat in my opinion one of the top teams in the country in Cal Poly.
“We deserve to be in. It’s not like they did some favor. We won seven games and beat seven Big Sky opponents. If you do that, you deserve to get in.”
Weber State’s run is made even more impressive when the plague of injuries Wildcat players have suffered is taken into account. Junior middle linebacker Emmett Tela, a two-time All-Big Sky selection who earned several votes for preseason BSC Defensive Player of Year, was lost for the season during fall camp.
WSU wide receiver Cam Livingston (1) and tight end Andrew Vollert (87)
Running backs junior Eric Wilkes, sophomore Treshawn Garrett and senior Emmanuel Pooler all entered the year with 100-yard games to their credit; all three have battled ankle injuries and saw limited (Garrett, Pooler) or no (Wilkes) playing time. Instead, the Wildcats have turned to Haini Moimoi, a super senior who signed with McBride in 2010 before embarking on a lengthy LDS mission.
Senior wide receiver Cam Livingston broke his leg against Northern Arizona and had season-ending surgery last week.
Weber State posted a 6-2 Big Sky record nonetheless — WSU’s seventh win came in a 14-7 victory over Sacramento State in a non-conference contest — by winning close games with its clutch defense led by first-team All-Big Sky outside linebacker Tre’von Johnson along with second-team all-league selections junior cornerback Taron Johnson and senior safety Josh Burton. Plus, the suddenly steady play of third-team All-Big Sky quarterback Jadrian Clark payed huge dividends.
Clark scored the game-winning touchdown on a 10-yard scamper with less than two minutes to play against Sac State. He threw the game-winning touchdown to tight end Andrew Vollert, the Big Sky’s Newcomer of the Year after transferring from San Jose State, midway through the fourth quarter in a 14-10 win over Portland State. Clark threw four touchdowns in the first half as Weber State built a 42-14 halftime lead in a 45-27 win over Montana State.
The 6-foot-3, 225-pound senior threw for 416 yards and four touchdowns, including a 40-yard bomb to Darryl Denby with 31 seconds left to beat Southern Utah. He engineered a 13-play, 6:34 drive for the go-ahead score against Cal Poly. He threw for 318 yards and two scores in his final regular-season game against ISU.
“I think the best way to describe Jadrian is projection and he has honestly gotten better every week,” Hill said. “His poise, his composure, accuracy have gotten better and better each week. Jadrian is an extremely competitive person. If he can keep that fire right on that edge where he is the most competitive with a balance of not going crazy and losing his mind, that’s where Jadrian is the best and that’s where we’ve had him this year.”
The Lakeland, Florida product came to Weber as part of Sears’ first recruiting class. The staff’s second recruiting class included players from every corner of America and the roster had almost a total overturn in two seasons. The moment Hill arrived on campus, Clark and many of his standout teammates, including players like Tre’von Johnson and offensive line stalwarts Cameron Young and Calvin Steyn knew Hill had the mentality to bring Weber back.
Weber State quarterback Jadrian Clark (10)
“I always believed this team had enough talent,” Clark said. “Once we added a good coaching staff to the mix and put in very sound systems both scheme-wise and how to handle everything of the day to day stuff to the off-season conditioning, we finally found that right mix to where we are today. To be able to win seven games and make the playoffs, Coach Hill has done such an amazing job of getting people to buy in and believe. That was a major thing we were missing. Once you really believe you can win, it changes everything.”
Now Weber State will look for its first playoff win since 2008 in its first playoff appearance since 2009. The Mocs of the Southern Conference are making their third consecutive playoff appearance under eighth-year head coach Russ Huesman. Chattanooga beat Indiana State before losing to New Hampshire in the quarterfinals of the 2014 FCS playoffs. Last season, Chattanooga beat Fordham in the first round before losing 41-35 in overtime to eventual national runner-up Jacksonville State in the second round.
“In a way, you look at the Southern Conference, athletically they are a lot like the SEC of the FCS,” Hill said. “They are long, they are athletic. They have kids growing up loving football. That concerns me.”
Chattanooga wrapped ups its season with a 31-3 loss to Alabama, the reigning national champions and No. 1 team in the FBS.
“I don’t know if this has every really happened (playing a team fresh off playing the No. 1 FBS team) but I know one thing: they just played Alabama so they are not going to come into this game scared about Weber State,” Hill said.
The Mocs are lead by Keionta Davis, a 6-foot-4, 265-pound wrecking ball defensive end who is one of the top NFL prospects in the FCS after piling up 29 sacks and 41 tackles for loss in his career. Hill said he is confident the game will be a dogfight between two squads ready to play. Weber’s intense coach emphasized if you are not up for a game like this, “You don’t deserve to be in the playoffs and you don’t deserve to play college football.”
For the Wildcat players, their primary goal has been realized. Now a new season begins on Saturday.
“We have to realize our original goal was the make the playoffs and now that we’ve completed that, it’s time to make some new goals, the first of which is to win this game,” Clark said. “This is a huge game for the program, this team, everything. I think if anything, it lit the fire even more. The last two days of practice have been outstanding. Everyone is giving great effort. It’s just been fun out there. Everyone is excited for this challenge ahead of us. We are ready to make a run.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
