When Jake Dougherty became the starting quarterback at Waynesburg University as a true freshman in 2015, he knew who he was succeeding.

For the previous two seasons, the Yellow Jackets were led by Carter Hill, who became arguably one of the best field generals in school history. Although Dougherty was concerned at first about following what Hill had accomplished—both on the field and as a leader in the locker room—he received guidance from his predecessor, who stayed on as an assistant coach for Dougherty’s first two seasons as a Yellow Jacket.

“Before I showed up to [training] camp, I felt a lot of pressure, because I knew how good he was,” Dougherty said. “I knew Carter won the locker room; everybody loved him. I guess that’s where I felt [the most pressure] was just being a team leader.”

Hill finished his career as the school’s second all-time passer with over 7,000 yards, while leading the Jackets to a 15-7 record, two ECAC bowl appearances and a memorable win over Washington & Jefferson in 2014.

When he first got to Waynesburg, Dougherty said that one of his problems was taking things too seriously, and felt he didn’t enjoy himself enough. When training camp started, however, he received guidance from Hill on enjoying himself while playing the game.

“When we got to camp, he said ‘you have to forget everything you did in high school, and just restart here and be mindful of the game and your peers, and just go out and have fun,’” Dougherty said. “Because my fault was I always took everything way too seriously. He said ‘guys want to have a quarterback that wants to have fun.’ He was a huge help. Absolutely huge help.”

Hill was on the Waynesburg coaching staff through the 2016 season before he accepted a job at Youngstown State University, where he currently serves as an offensive quality control coach.

For Hill, the things he learned as a player under former head coach Rick Shepas got him ready for what he hopes to be his future career.

“My experience was great,” Hill said. “I think coach Shepas and the Waynesburg coaching staff really prepared us well as players in understanding the ins and outs of the game. So, it was a unique transition for me to go into coaching.”

Hill has wanted to be a coach since he was a quarterback at Crestview High School in Columbiana, Ohio. He’s familiar with the profession, with his father, Dan Hill, being his high school quarterbacks coach.

In his time on Waynesburg’s coaching staff, Hill coached the quarterbacks and the wide receivers. Due to some connections with Waynesburg and Youngstown State’s coaching staffs; such as Shepas’ relationship with Penguins head coach Bo Pelini, he was recommended to YSU and ended up joining the staff after the 2016 season.

“I had some connections here, and I was lucky enough to get a shot to come here and help out,” Hill said. “It’s been fun.”

Hill’s responsibilities at Youngstown State consist mainly of working with wide receivers coach Tim Marlowe. He assists in making game plans and scouting reports, as well as film breakdown and uses his experience as a quarterback to throw routes to receivers during practices. Hill signals plays to the offense in practice and in games, which he also had experience with as a former quarterback.

For Hill, the biggest difference between coaching at a Division I and a Division III level is that Division I athletes are playing for more than just a hobby.

“It’s different because the attention to detail is a little bit more significant at the Division I level because players—this is their job,” Hill said. “They’re getting paid scholarship money to do this. Division III players, they’re just students that are good athletes that want to keep playing for the love of the game. But some [Division I athletes] are playing to afford a degree, so it’s their job necessarily, and it’s not that way necessarily at Waynesburg or [any Division III school] because they’re playing for the love of the game.”

Dougherty knew that Hill was bound to move on to coaching at a higher level. Although he was disappointed when he found out that Hill was leaving, he wasn’t surprised.

“I knew he was going to leave all along,” he said. “Nothing against Waynesburg, but it was time for him to move on and go to bigger and better things… I was upset at first, but I’m happy for him now. He’s doing a good job.”

For Shepas, who oversaw Hill both as a player and coach, Hill has the potential to one day take on the responsibilities of being a head coach.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt [that he could be a head coach],” Shepas said. “[In] the coaching profession nowadays, there’s a lot of perseverance involved. You have to spend a lot of time paying your dues, and I think that as long as Carter is willing to do that, I think he’ll be just fine.”

While Hill has only been coaching for three seasons, he already knows that it’s what he wants to do for a living. Although Hill works construction between football seasons, coaching is what Hill lives for.

“All of my eggs are in one basket now as far as I’m taking a chance,” Hill said. “I’m trying to build my resume and trying to make connections and get my foot in the door somewhere.”