Weber State football: Why veteran coach Jay Hill remains excited about season openers – Standard-Examiner
ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner
Weber State football head coach Jay Hill gives instructions during the first practice of fall camp Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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OGDEN — One week ago, Ashtyn Salazar shared on Twitter a message sent to her by her father.
It was a video of a small dog happily prancing through some grass — with tongue, ears and tail equally flapping back and forth with each stride — set to some traditional Mexican mariachi music.
“Football season!!!” was the accompanying text caption from the sender, Weber State head football coach Jay Hill.
“Thought I’d give everyone a peek into how excited @CoachJayHill is for the season to start,” his daughter tweeted. “(Weber State) you guys truly have the best.”
Got this DM from my dad the other day & thought I’d give everyone a peek into how excited @CoachJayHill is for the season to start????????@weberstatefb you guys truly have the best????@WeberStateWkly @barstool_weber #wsu #weberstatefootball pic.twitter.com/ELljxT3wfJ
— ashtyn hill salazar (@ashtynh_) August 24, 2022
In his ninth season as WSU’s head coach, and 22nd coaching after his playing days at Utah, Hill seems as enthusiastic as ever as the Wildcats prepare to open the 2022 season at 6 p.m. Friday, a home game against Western Oregon.
He’s spoken often about his excitement and how fun his current team has been to coach.
“It’s crazy that we work all year for 11 regular-season weekends. You put in so many hours of work to finally get to this point and now it’s exciting,” Hill said. “It’s almost like Christmas where you don’t know quite what you’ve got.
“You think you’ve got a good team, you know you have some things that you’ve got to improve, and it’s like are we really going to take those steps forward? Are we going to become the team I think we can be? It’s exciting. The unknown is exciting to me.”
The exciting unknown includes learning just how well WSU’s new offense will take hold in the Big Sky, and positions like receiver, defensive end and linebacker where new playmakers are needed.
The nature of college football makes it a new experience for players and coaches each season.
“The team is always changing. We never have the exact same team as we had the year before. There are seniors who graduate, kids who transfer, there are those who get hurt. So there’s always things to overcome with a new team each season. That’s exciting to me,” Hill said. “You never quite know how it’s going to end up but along the way, if you do things right, you abide by the process and do things you know lead to wins, usually we’ll be where we want to be at the end.”
Some of the thrill comes from the young players, some even redshirt or true freshmen, who are on WSU’s two-deep. Those are players like receiver Marvin Session, offensive lineman Jake Eichorn, defensive ends Brayden Wilson and Jack Kelly, linebacker Jayden Ah You, safeties LJ Anderson and Kao Hansen, and cornerback Abraham Williams.
“You know, one time Taron Johnson was a young guy. One time, Andrew Vollert played his first football game here,” Hill said. “LeGrand Toia, Jared Schiess — who ended up starting 50 games or whatever it was — he had his first game.
“Everybody has to have their first game and you never quite know what you have until you see them play, see them react. I’m excited to see how this freshman class steps up, and not just the freshmen but all the newcomers.”
WILLIAMS MAKES RAMS ROSTER
NFL teams finalized their initial 53-man rosters Tuesday and former Weber State defensive lineman Jonah Williams got good news: he’s on the Los Angeles Rams.
Williams was with the Rams in 2021 as a practice-squad player, though he appeared in spot duty in eight games and celebrated with his team after winning the Super Bowl. But this year, he’s starting the season on the main roster.
Former WSU offensive lineman Sua Opeta was also placed on the Philadelphia Eagles’ 53-man roster, joining Williams and Buffalo Bills starting defensive back Taron Johnson on active rosters to open the season.
“Not surprised. Super excited for them and their families. Jonah and his cute wife Kennedy just had a baby, so making a 53-man NFL roster is a big deal for them,” Hill said. “Accrued years that happen over the next couple of years, hopefully he continues to get opportunities where he can solidify himself as an NFL guy. He’s talented enough, for sure. Now someone’s seen that worth and I think it will only go up from there.”
Williams is on the Rams with two groups with local ties. He’s one of four to play at a Utah college, along with linebacker Bobby Wagner (Utah State), defensive back Terrell Burgess (Utah) and kicker Matt Gay (Utah).
He’s also one of four to have played collegiately in the Big Sky, along with star receiver Cooper Kupp (Eastern Washington) and a pair of Montana State rookies in receiver Lance McCutcheon and linebacker Daniel Hardy.
“I’ve been really pleased with Jonah Williams and he’s a guy we have a lot of trust in,” Rams head coach Sean McVay said before final cuts were made.
Rashid Shaheed, the most dynamic kick returner in FCS history, was released by the New Orleans Saints. It was a likely outcome as Shaheed suffered an injury in the 2021 WSU season finale and has been working his way back to playing form. He did not return any kicks in the preseason and is likely to end up on the Saints’ practice squad.