Ad Disclosure
Power 4 defensive coordinator hospitalized ahead of Week 1 game, has multiple heart procedures
Published:
BYU has a season opener to play on Saturday night at home against Southern Illinois, but as the game approaches, it’s Cougars defensive coordinator Jay Hill who is most on the minds of everyone associated with BYU football.
The 49-year-old Hill, who is also the Cougars’ associated head coach, was hospitalized on Thursday night after complaining of chest pains and general discomfort. According to his father, Ferrell Hill, he has undergone 2 procedures to clear 100% blockage in 1 artery and 60% blockage in another.
Here's what is going on with BYU DC Jay Hill, who was hospitalized Thursday night and underwent multiple heart procedures.https://t.co/nyhYHEAaWu
— Jay Drew (@drewjay) August 31, 2024
Hill’s father said he still wants to coach Saturday’s game from the press box, but as of Saturday morning it was not known if that would be possible.
Ferrell Hill said the team was notified of his son’s condition on Friday night at the team hotel.
Jay Hill has been at BYU since December 2022 after a 9-year stint as Weber State’s head coach.
According to Ferrell Hill, his son experienced the symptoms on Thursday after practice and was taken to Timpanogos Regional Hospital in Orem, Utah, by his wife, Sara.
Doctors discovered the blockage in 1 artery after performing an angiogram and placed a stent — a small metal mesh tube — in that artery.
After Saturday morning’s procedure on the artery that had 60% blockage, Ferrell Hill said his son still wanted to coach in Saturday night’s game.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
