Boise State offensive coordinator Zak Hill accepts Pac-12 job — continuing a trend
Boise State football offensive coordinator Zak Hill has accepted the same position at Arizona State, both schools announced Saturday.
“I would like to thank Zak for his time here at Boise State. We’ve learned over the last several years that when you’ve had the kind of success that we’ve had, our assistants are going to generate a lot of interest throughout the country,” Boise State coach Bryan Harsin said Saturday in a statement. “We wish him the best of luck, and we’ll do what we always do — move forward and continue to build on our past accomplishments. First things first, we have a bowl game to prepare for, and then we will work on filling out our staff.”
Hill won’t coach in the Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 21 against Washington (5:30 p.m., ABC), Harsin said Saturday evening. Harsin wouldn’t comment on a potential replacement for Hill, and he said he would take on more of the play-calling responsibilities in the bowl game.
“I’ve always kind of been involved in those areas, and we’ll figure all that out as we go,” Harsin said on Saturday. “As we get that plan put together, we’ll iron out how the week goes.”
Arizona State released a statement on Hill’s behalf.
“I am really excited about this opportunity and I truly believe it is a great situation for me at ASU,” Hill said. “I appreciate Coach Edwards believing in me and having the trust to bring me on and I am thankful to (Vice President for University Athletics) Ray Anderson and the Sun Devil administration for their support in making this happen. I am really excited to get down there and I know we have some exciting weapons on offense. I look forward to putting together an explosive, fun offense that our fans will love to watch.
“I am humbled at this opportunity. I also want to thank everyone at Boise State for a great four years and I am grateful for all the support I have received from Bronco Nation. I would especially like to thank Coach Harsin for his leadership and my years at Boise State and the opportunity he afforded me to grow as a coach.”
Boise State wide receivers coach Eric Kiesau is Hill’s most likely internal replacement. In 2017 — Kiesau’s first season with the Broncos — he mentored Cedrick Wilson, who broke Boise State’s single-season receiving yardage record with 1,511 yards. This fall, he helped turn senior John Hightower — who, two years ago, caught just 13 passes as a junior college wide receiver — into one of the top receivers in the Mountain West. Hightower ranks No. 6 in the conference with 923 yards, and he’s tied for No. 3 with eight receiving touchdowns.
This season was Kiesau’s first as Boise State’s co-offensive coordinator. He was Fresno State’s offensive coordinator in 2016 and served as the Bulldogs’ interim head coach over the final four games of the season. He also has been a coordinator at Washington (2012-13), Colorado (2009-10) and Kansas (part of 2014).
Hill came to Boise State as the quarterbacks coach in 2016, and he shared offensive coordinator duties with Harsin and then-offensive line coach Scott Huff. Hill took over as the primary playcaller in 2017, and with Brett Rypien at quarterback and Alexander Mattison in the backfield, the Broncos’ offense ranked No. 36 in scoring offense in 2017 (32.5 points per game) and No. 20 in 2018 (35.4 ppg).
Despite starting three different quarterbacks and leaning on a true freshman in the running game, Boise State’s offense ranks No. 1 in the Mountain West and No. 14 in the country with 36.8 points a game this season and No. 2 in the conference with 441.5 yards per game (No. 38 in the nation).
Hill’s creativity as a playcaller has been on display this season. Reverses and shovel passes have been a regular part of the Broncos’ repertoire. Hightower and fellow receiver Khalil Shakir have both thrown passes, left tackle Ezra Cleveland ran the ball and Boise State even dusted off the Statue of Liberty play, which helped put the program on the map in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl.
Before coming to Boise State, Hill was the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Eastern Washington from 2009 to 2015. He called the plays his last year for a wide-open passing attack, which led the FCS in 2015 with 353.3 yards per game. Eastern Washington made the FCS playoffs in five of the seven seasons Hill was on staff and won the 2010 FCS National Championship.
Arizona State coach Herm Edwards announced Dec. 1 that offensive coordinator Rob Likens would not return after the Sun Devils finished the regular season ranked No. 94 in the country with 25.2 points a game and No. 89 in total offense (379.6 yards per game).
The Sun Devils, who will play in the Sun Bowl, have an athletic true freshman quarterback in Jayden Daniels, who was one of the top quarterback recruits in the country. Hill experienced success this year with Boise State true freshman Hank Bachmeier and dual-threat senior Jaylon Henderson.
“Zak is very well versed in offensive football,” ASU coach Herm Edwards said in a statement. “He comes from winning programs and he played the quarterback position. I like that. He’s good at building an offense around the personnel that he has available to him. He will force the defense to adjust with multiple formations and personnel groups. His style fits the DNA of what we want on our coaching staff. He’s an excellent teacher.”
Hill’s departure continues a trend for Boise State offensive coordinators.
Harsin left the OC job for Texas after the 2010 season, Brent Pease went to Florida after the 2011 season, Mike Sanford went to Notre Dame after the 2014 season and Eliah Drinkwitz went to North Carolina State after the 2015 season. Harsin (Arkansas State, Boise State), Sanford (Western Kentucky) and Drinkwitz (Appalachian State, Missouri) parlayed those higher-profile opportunities into head coaching jobs.
Harsin’s predecessor in the offensive coordinator role, Chris Petersen, also became a head coach at Boise State and Washington. The only break in that chain of promotions is Robert Prince, who was the wide receivers coach and OC in 2012-13. But the quarterbacks coach on those teams was Jonathan Smith, now the head coach at Oregon State.
This story was originally published December 14, 2019 at 1:16 PM.
