Analyzing BYU’s defense under new Michigan Football DC Jay Hill

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With Kyle Whittingham taking over the Michigan football program, the longtime head coach has assembled an impressive group of assistants around him. Perhaps the most prominent of the bunch is new defensive coordinator Jay Hill, who had been competing against Whittingham at BYU for the last three seasons.

Now, it hasn’t always been bad blood between Hill and Whittingham, as Hill was actually a member of Utah’s coaching staff serving nearly every role in the book on both sides of the ball from 2001 to 2013. He then left to become the head coach at Weber State, before eventually coming back to FBS to be BYU’s defensive coordinator from 2023 to 2025. It was during that time that he developed into a more well-known assistant in the college football world and helped turn BYU’s defense into one of the best in the Big 12. Today, we’ll take a closer look at Hill’s defensive philosophy and some of the players he’s coached in Provo, so Michigan fans might know what to expect this year.

To set the stage, Ilaisa Tuiaki served as the defensive coordinator for Kalani Sitaki and BYU from 2016 to 2022. The Cougars were among the worst defensive teams in the nation in Tuiaki’s final season at BYU, surrendering 408.1 yards per game and 29.5 points per game.

As such, Hill took over after his nine-year stint as the head coach at Weber State, but the Cougars actually still ranked among the nation’s worst defenses in Hill’s first season, allowing 29.8 points (No. 99 in FBS) and 417.7 total yards per game to opponents. Despite the rough start, though, Sitake stuck with Hill to allow him to establish himself more with his own players – and the results certainly showed up in the next two seasons with the blend of talent and scheme.

From a statistical standpoint, the improvement from 2023 to 2024 for BYU’s defense is staggering to say the least. The Cougars cut down their points per game by over 10 points to 19.6, which was good for No. 18 in the country. They also allowed just 308.8 total yards with their secondary being the star of the show – allowing just 182.5 yards per game through the air.

Much like Wink Martindale and his Ravens disciples before him, Hill is a big fan of disguising coverages, which helps to confuse opposing quarterbacks – providing one look at the line of scrimmage before rotating defenders around at the snap. Furthermore, he’ll often drop more defenders into coverage and opt for a lighter pass rush. This might lead to less productivity in the sack department, but it helps the defense employ more of a “bend, not break” approach, where offenses are forced to move methodically downfield. In more aggressive defensive styles, as we saw with Don Brown, a dominant pass rush and lots of blitzes might generate lots of plays going for negative yardage, but more susceptibility for big plays at the same time.

Starting in 2024, Hill had a couple of players start to rise as big-time contributors to his defense. Perhaps the most notable are the two middle linebackers Isaiah Glasker and Jack Kelly. The two have combined for 153 tackles including 46.5 for a loss, over the last two years. Glasker has also shown to be a good asset in coverage, picking off five passes in the last two seasons.

In 2025, Hill’s defense continued its dominant ways as part of what turned out to be a 12-2 year for BYU. This time, the Cougars surrendered 19.1 points per game (No. 19 in FBS) and 332.4 total yards. Opposing passing attacks were able to find a bit more success through the air, but several players in the BYU secondary still emerged – particularly safeties Tanner Wall and Faletau Satuala. Just a sophomore, Satuala led the team in tackles with 47 in 2025 while also intercepting three passes, emerging as one of the best young defensive backs in the country. He wasn’t the only member of BYU’s secondary that proved to be a ball hawk, though, as Wall intercepted four passes, while cornerback Evan Johnson intercepted five.

Overall, Hill’s teams have been quite productive in the turnover department, taking the ball away from opponents 31 times in 2024 and another 24 times in 2025.

Bringing in Hill to take over the defense for Michigan represents the first time that the program will have someone leading its defense who hasn’t been associated with the Harbaugh-Ravens tree since 2020. Some similarities in the scheme that Hill will employ, but there will no doubt be a change from what the players on the roster are used to. Despite the change, though, Hill and his seasoned group of position coaches should still do well with the talent Michigan brings back and can add through the transfer portal.

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