SALT LAKE CITY — A lot of folks in red will be rooting for the guys in purple Saturday.
Former Utah player and assistant Jay Hill, who is in his sixth season at the helm of Weber State, guides the Wildcats into the FCS semifinals against James Madison (4:30 p.m., ESPNU). The winner advances to the national championship against North Dakota State or Montana State.
Weber State has never advanced this far. The Wildcats made it to the final four with a 17-10 victory over Montana eight days ago in Ogden.
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham was among those tuning into the broadcast.
“Good for Jay Hill. What a great defensive effort, five turnovers and a blocked punt. So that’s the equivalent of six takeaways — a plan to win,” he said. “Play great defense is what he did, and they did a nice job.”
Whittingham added that the Wildcats are winning a lot of games, obviously.
Utah linebackers coach Colton Swan knows Weber State well. He played and coached for the Wildcats, doing the latter from 2004-18 while earning both a bachelor’s and master’s degree at the school in Ogden.
Swan, who is completing his first season at Utah, is excited about what is going on at his alma mater.
“They’re having a heck of a year. I’ve been able to slip down and watch a game and it was impressive,” he said. “It was a nice win versus Montana in the weather so I’m super, super proud of all the kids and the coaches. They’re doing a great job.”
Swan transitioned into coaching as soon as his playing career ended in 2003. Because of his lengthy tenure, he knows Weber State well — the administration, the school, the teachers, the faculty, as well as the community.
“You get pretty invested being there for that long,” Swan said. “So, yeah, the transition’s a little bit difficult for sure.”
Weber State’s climb to national contention has been a process. The Wildcats, though, have climbed to the upper echelon in recent seasons. They’ve won three straight Big Sky Conference championships.
“It comes down to obviously recruiting. They’ve done a great job and I like to go back because a lot of those kids that are playing now are guys that I’ve recruited and have very close relationships with their families. And so that’s a big part of it,” Swan said. “But from when Jay got there to where it’s at now, it has made a huge jump.”
It’s the next leap, he added, that the Wildcats are poised to make.
“Get into the championship game and we’ll see what happens,” Swan said. “It’s a huge improvement over the six years Jay has been there.”
Swan vows he’ll be glued to the game watching the Wildcats. He considers himself fortunate to have worked with Hill for five years.
“He’s a great coach, a great man,” Swan said. “He treats the kids with respect. He holds them accountable. He’s well organized. You know, he’s got a good plan. He’s got good vision. He knows football really well and I just can’t say enough good stuff about him.”
Besides Hill, who played at Utah in 1998 and 1999 and worked on the staff from 2001-13, the Weber State full-time staff has a lot of ties to the Utes.
— Associate head coach Brent Myers, who also coaches the offensive line, worked for Urban Meyer in 2003.
— Offensive coordinator Dave Schramm was an assistant at Utah from 2005-11. He was the offensive coordinator for the Utes in 2009 and the co-offensive coordinator in 2010.
— Defensive line coach Kite Afeaki played for Utah in 2004 and 2005.
— Safeties coach Joe Dale played for Utah from 2006-09 and was a graduate assistant in 2014 and 2015.
— Outside linebacker coach Grant Duff served as an administrative and graduate assistant at Utah from 2008-12.
— Running backs coach Quinton Ganther was a student assistant for Utah in 2012. He played for the Utes in 2004 and 2005, he rushed for 1,120 yards a senior.