As Jay Hill sits in a cart during a tediously long round of golf at a mountain course in Utah last summer, he references a longtime friend who is now one of his new football foes. Weber State’s head coach has known Jeff Choate for more than a decade.
The renowned special teams gurus crossed paths and matched wits many times during Hill’s tenure at Utah and Choate’s time at Utah State and Boise State. Now Hill is the head coach in Ogden while Choate is in his first year as the head coach in Bozeman at Montana State.
As Hill waits to tee off during this particularly slow Monday afternoon round, he praises Choate and expresses he thinks Choate will be a great addition to the Big Sky Conference before drilling yet another 300-yard drive off the tee box.
WSU head coach Jay Hill/by WSU Athletics
After more than a decade of exchanging ideas and scheming for each other in preparation for Mountain West and Pac 12 contests, Saturday marks the first time Hill and Choate will square off at head coaches. Weber State faces Montana State in MSU’s first trip to Ogden, Utah since 2013 on Saturday afternoon at Stewart Stadium.
“Coach Choate and I go back a long ways,” Hill said on Wednesday during the weekly Big Sky Conference coaches’ call. “I used Coach Choate and a lot of the Boise State stuff back at the University of Utah. He and I met up maybe every other year or so and we bounced a lot of ideas off each other. And not just special teams; defense, offense, bounced a lot of ideas off each other. I consider Coach Choate a really good friend and one heck of a football coach. That makes it fun for us when you get to go against guys who you know well.”
Hill coached various position groups and served as the special teams coordinator at Utah, his alma mater, on Kyle Whittingham’s staff from 2005 until 2013. He took over at Weber State three seasons ago, leading the Wildcats to their first winning record since 2010 with last year’s 6-5 finish. He is 11-17 in his career at Weber, including 9-9 in Big Sky play. Weber State enters Saturday’s game with MSU on the first three-game winning streak since Ron McBride was the Wildcats’ head coach.
Montana State is experiencing similar struggles that Weber went through in Hill’s first season in 2014. That year, Hill had Weber in pretty much every ball game but the Wildcats lost eight straight to begin the season and finished 2-9 while enduring six losses by a touchdown or less.
MSU head coach Jeff Choate/by Brooks Nuanez
In Choate’s first season, Montana State has lost four games by a combined total of 14 points, including three straight to open Big Sky play by a total of 11 points. Before coming to Montana State, Choate spent 13 seasons coaching in the FBS ranks. Choate was Mick Dennehy’s special teams coordinator at Utah State in 2003 and 2004. He joined Chris Petersen’s staff at Boise State in 2006 and served as the ST coordinator until 2011. Choate made stops at Washington State (2012), UTEP (2013), Florida (2013) and Washington (2013-2015), serving as the special teams coordinator at his last two stops.
Montana State will look for its first Big Sky win in its first appearance at Stewart Stadium since 2013, the year before Hill took over at Weber.
“Jay Hill is a longtime friend of mine,” Choate said. “Really, really good person, good football coach. You can see the process he has implemented there at Weber. This is a team that has played a lot of close games.”
Choate said he would drive down to Salt Lake City when Hill was at Utah to exchange ideas from time to time. They would also swap ideas over the phone.
“We’ve always been like-minded guys and I respect him and what he’s all about,” Choate said.
Hill can’t remember the last time specifically he squared off with Choate for sure, but he thinks it was in the Maaco Bowl in Las Vegas in 2010. That day, Boise State thoroughly dominated Utah, rolling up 23 first downs to the Utes’ eight, gaining 543 total yards to Utah’s 198. Kellen Moore threw two touchdowns, Doug Martin ripped off an 84-yard run and Boise State won, 26-3.
“I think the last time we matched forces was in a bowl game and Boise State kicked our butt,” Hill said. “Bottom line, these game are fun, it gives us an opportunity to go against each other but in the end, it’s about the players, who can make plays and who can execute the game plan. I look forward to this game.”
Weber State head coach Jay Hill with wife Sarah/by WSU Athletics
Before the 2016 season began, Hill’s wife, Sarah, was diagnosed with cancer. In a display of unity, the entire Weber State team along with Hill shaved their heads in support. Weber is on a three-game winning streak and is one of three of the 13 teams in the Big Sky with an unblemished league record (2-0) despite the adversity the team has endured off the field.
“I know Jay and Sarah both and it doesn’t surprise me they are fighting,” Choate said. “She’s an awesome, tough lady. They are a great family. I’m sure the Weber community has rallied around them. It’s like I told our team on Sunday: there’s problems and there is real problems. It probably makes what is going on in between the white lines a little less important when you think of other things that are of more magnitude. Certainly, always think of Jay and Sarah and their family. I’m very much wishing them the best. Jay is a tough guy, a tough-minded guy and a tremendous football coach.”
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