Jay Hill Will Call BYU’s Defense Against SMU

DALLAS – One week after suffering a heart attack, BYU football defensive coordinator Jay Hill is back calling the defense.

Hill is in Dallas with BYU as they gear up to take on the SMU Mustangs.

#BYU DC Jay Hill is here in Dallas. Hill’s wife, Sara, is with him.#BYUFootball @kslsports pic.twitter.com/ueT0Tild6R

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) September 6, 2024

The plan is for Hill to call the defense from the press box. Last week, Hill was in the press box during the victory over Southern Illinois, but he didn’t call the defense.

During the game, he communicated with BYU coaches, but head coach Kalani Sitake called the defense and linebacker coach Justin Ena handled “Coach to Player” communication.

Going into that Southern Illinois game, Jay Hill sent a message on X providing an update after his health scare.

“I want to express my appreciation to all of the kind texts, tweets, and messages my family and I have received. that said, I don’t love drama and would hate anything to detract from the excitement of this game. Tonight I pray for the players that they will go out and play to their very best abilities and the focus of this game and season remains on them. Go Cougs!!!”

The second year defensive coordinator arrived at Gerald J. Ford Stadium with his wife, Sara. He was on the field during the first phase of pregame warmups.

Kickoff for BYU (1-0) versus SMU (2-0) in Dallas is at 5 p.m. (MT) on ESPN2 and KSL NewsRadio.

BYU/SMU: Game Day Reading

• Game day preview plus score prediction
• How to Watch
• BYU drops hype video
• Big 12 Football: Week Two picks
• SMU’s Rhett Lashlee calls Kalani Sitake ‘Ambassador’ of College Football
• Simulation of BYU/SMU on EA Sports College Football 25
• BYU fans in Utah can watch tonight’s game in movie theaters
• BYU vs. SMU football history
• SMU unveils new red uniform for BYU game
• Five things we learned from Kalani Sitake for SMU week
• BYU’s depth chart

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.

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