West Texas A&M University Athletics

Bert Hill comes to West Texas A&M as defensive line coach after spending last season at Lakeview Centennial High School in Garland, Texas, where he coached the defensive line and powerlifting team. Hill brings more than three decades of coaching at the Division I and NFL level to the Buffs.

Prior to Lakeview Centennial High School, Hill was the defensive line coach at Southern Methodist University for seven years. During his tenure with the Mustangs, he transformed the SMU defensive line into one of the nation’s best, helping the program regain its former glory while working under former UH head coach June Jones. Hill’s players aided SMU to four consecutive bowl seasons and a narrow loss in the 2010 Conference-USA Championship Game.

The Mustangs hit a new high in that journey in 2012 with the defense, posting two shutouts and tying an NCAA interception record, ranking 15th in rush defense with just 118 yards per game, while also tying for third in takeaways (37), ranking second in fumble recoveries for touch­down (16) and led the nation in interceptions for touchdown (8).

Hill recruited and guided numerous SMU players to all-conference honors, including defensive end Taylor Thompson, who was named First Team Conference USA as a Junior and Senior and was selected to the All-Texas College Team in 2011. Thompson was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL Draft.

Hill also developed Margus Hunt, an Estonian shot and discus athlete, who had never played football prior to coming to SMU. Under Hill’s tutelage Hunt developed into an All-Conference USA player, and was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

The 2012 squad capped off its fourth consecutive year in a bowl, putting Hill’s defense line on display in defeating Fresno State 43-10 in the Sheraton Hawai‘i Bowl, highlighted by Hunt’s two-forced fumble, three-sack, Co-MVP performance, holding FSU to just 16 yards rushing.

SMU closed the 2011 season with a BBVA Compass Bowl win that saw the Mustang defensive line limit Pittsburgh to just 10 rushing yards and a bowl-record-low six points. Hunt was a dominate force accounting for 3 Sacks and 5 total tackles against Pittsburgh.

The 2010 season saw Thompson tabbed as all-CUSA first-teamer, with a narrow 16-14 loss to Army West Point in the Armed Forces Bowl. Hill’s defensive line played to the challenge, limiting the Black Knights to only 229 yards of offense despite the loss.

In 2009, SMU’s defense transitioned from a 4-3 scheme to a 3-4 and the results were immediate. In SMU’s 45-10 win over Nevada in the Sheraton Hawai‘i Bowl, the Mustang defensive line held the Wolf Pack’s No. 1-ranked rushing offense to a season-low 137 yards—more than 200 yards below its average.