Provo • Jacob Hill’s Friday morning race was supposed to be the cover story.
As BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill lay in his hospital bed on Thursday night — recovering from a heart attack — he was plotting how he’d keep the news from his players and staff. With the Cougars’ season opener on Saturday, Hill didn’t want his health to be on their minds.
So when he called head coach Kalani Sitake, Hill laid out a plan. He was already scheduled to miss the team’s Friday meeting because he would be attending his son, Jacob’s, race. Nobody would question his absence there. Then, to keep his assistants in the dark, he’d keep texting in their group chat about different third-down packages to fix.
That would buy Hill enough time to get out of the hospital and join the team on Saturday without anyone knowing where he’d been.
“I hung up the phone and said, ‘OK, we’ll see how it goes. It’s going to be really hard,’” Sitake said.
Then, somehow, word leaked out.
And the Cougars rallied around their coach.
“I want to express my appreciation to all the kind texts, tweets and messages my family and I have received,” Hill said in a statement Saturday morning. “That said, I don’t love drama and would hate anything to detract from the excitement of this game.”
Hill might call it drama.
Sitake called it family.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Brigham Young Cougars head coach Kalani Sitake as BYU hosts Southern Illinois, NCAA football in Provo on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024.
Because when a man that loved within a program comes that close to tragedy, people want to know. And, Sitake said, family needs to help.
Hill’s heart attack gave everyone a troubling scare. The 49-year-old defensive coordinator was driving home from practice on Thursday and felt discomfort in his chest. When he got home, his wife, Sarah, took him to the hospital.
Sitake got a call soon after. He expected it was Hill’s daily debrief of practice where he unspools his thoughts.
Instead, it was Sarah on the other end telling him it could have been fatal.
“That was kind of hard for me to hear,” Sitake said. “All I cared about is to see him OK. He is my friend. And so that was a huge scare. I’m glad that they were able to get him. Get him on the right path to recovery.”
Sitake and Hill have been close for decades. They coached together at the University of Utah all the way back in 2005 and have stayed connected since.
When Hill was the head coach at Weber State, his daughter enrolled at BYU. He called Sitake asking him to look out for her. They became like family.
That’s why, even though Hill planned not to tell anyone, Sitake told his friend their team needed to know. The players, Sitake said, loved Hill as much as he did. And in Sitake’s concept of family, loved ones are there in the lowest times. It was as much for their peace of mind as his.
“He didn’t want the attention, but people love him,” Sitake said. “And how can you not? He’s such a good person. And so on behalf of him, I was telling everybody thank you for caring about him and praying for him.”
Hill eventually caved. On Friday, Sitake connected his phone to the meeting room’s video board and had Hill FaceTime in. He addressed the team and told them to go on as usual.
“It was devastating to say the least,” defensive lineman John Nelson said. “And a lot of guys, offense and defense rallied around the idea that he pours his heart and soul in this program. He believes in us.”
Sitake said Hill spoke about love. “I thought that was really cool,” the head coach said. “It kind of gave the players just a good sense of just a relief, you know?”
Hill was discharged from the hospital on Saturday afternoon. He made his way to Provo and walked onto the field after warm ups. He was greeted with hugs from around 85 players.
He went up to the booth to watch BYU beat Southern Illinois 41-13. Sitake called the defense, but Hill took a headset and communicated with him throughout the night.
“I reminded the boys while we were playing that we got special circumstances going on,” Nelson said. “For him to have a heart attack and make the game the next day is pretty, pretty tough, in my opinion.”
When the night ended, Sitake speculated about Hill’s eventual return. He said it was possible the coordinator could be back Monday.
But at least for Saturday night, he was just happy to hear his voice. And happy Hill’s football family could embrace him.
“He’s always been a great friend. He’s always been great for me,” Sitake said. “We worked together for a long time. So great friend. And I’m just glad that he’s doing good.”