Stan Hill is entering his ninth season as offensive coordinator for Northwest.
An Oxford native with Tupelo roots, Hill’s offensive scheme is a run-and-gun, pass-friendly approach. He arrived at Northwest in 2016 after eight successful seasons at Oxford High School.
Last year, the Rangers finished 7-3 overall with Indiana State signee Keegan Patterson under center. Hill's quarterback started all 10 games for Northwest, passing for 2,153 yards and 15 touchdowns, completing roughly 50 percent of his passes.
During a 10-2 season in 2022, Hill's offense averaged 33.8 points per game with 4,712 yards of total offense. both ranking seventh in the nation and second in the MACCC. Through the air, Northwest ranked eighth in total passing yards (2,617), while quarterback and First Team NJCAA All-American Ren Hefley finished second in the nation with over 2,400 passing yards. The Rangers averaged 218.1 passing yards per game (10th) and compiled 25 passing touchdowns, tying for fifth nationally.
On the ground, the Rangers rushed for 2,095 yards on the season, which ranked fifth among NJCAA Division I programs. Northwest also scored 25 rushing touchdowns, good for seventh nationally, and averaged 174.6 yards per game, ranking 11th in the nation.
Seven of Hill's offensive skill players signed with four-year programs, highlighted by Hefley (Middle Tennessee State), receiver D.T. Sheffield (Washington State), tight end Kevin Diaz (Arkansas State), receivers Jaycob Horn (Eastern Kentucky) and E. Jai Mason (Samford), Dekyren Johnson (Delta State) and running back Cayden Betts (Mississippi Valley State).
Hefley also became the latest quarterback disciple of Hill to move on to the four-year level, joining the likes of Jack Abraham (Southern Miss/Mississippi State/Missouri), Michael Hiers (Samford), Jacob Free (Troy), Jack Walker (Southern Miss), Clay Holgorsen (Northwestern State), Robert Wilcke (Harding University) and Jack Strouse (Missouri Southern State).
In 2021, Hill's offense ranked first in the MACCC with 5,402 total yards, good for fourth in the nation. The Rangers also ranked fifth nationally in scoring (434 points), fourth in total passing yards (3,109) and second in total rushing yards (2,293). Northwest was also in the top five in several other categories, including first downs (277) and passing completions (224), while also ranking seventh for both third and fourth down conversions.
Despite a shortened 2020 season due to COVID-19, Hill's offense helped Northwest to a 6-0 record, the MACCC Championship and the National Community College Football Championship, while posting 394.5 yards per game and 33.5 points per game.
As part of the Rangers' offense over the 2020-21 seasons, Hill helped develop Murray State transfer Michael Hiers into one of the most coveted JUCO quarterback recruits in the country. The Birmingham native and Samford signee finished his Northwest career with 4,519 passing yards, good for fifth all-time in the program record books. He also concluded the 2021 season with 3,093 passing yards, joining Will Hall (3,982; 2000), Russell Evans (3,293; 1992) and Gardner Minshew II (3,288; 2015) as only one of four Ranger quarterbacks to toss for 3,000 yards in a single season.
Other notable standouts on Hill's offense include receiver Jacoby Jones (Ohio), Tyson Keys (Alcorn State) and standout running back Jaquerrious Williams (2019-21).
Hill helped the Northwest offense to nearly 400 yards per game and 33.1 points per game in 2019, his third season in the top 20 nationally for both total offense and scoring offense. The Rangers captured its third MACJC North Division championship in the last five years and advance to the conference title game for fourth time in five seasons, finishing with an 8-3 overall record.
Hill's offense also boasted a 2,000-yard passer for the third straight season, as Jack Walker passed for 2,279 yards and 20 touchdowns, joining Jacob Free (2018; 2,036 yds) and Jack Abraham (2017; 2949 yds).
The Rangers ranked fifth in the NJCAA in total offense five seasons ago, up from 22nd in Hill’s first year. Northwest had the MACJC’s second-ranked total offense (485.5 ypg) and fourth-best scoring offense (37.3 ppg), including 66 and 61-point games vs rival East Mississippi.
Northwest boasted two 1,000-yard rushers in his first season in Quarderman Sloan and Tywun Walters, a program-first, giving the Rangers an MACJC-best streak of three straight seasons with a 1,000-yard rusher. The Rangers rushed a school-record 515 times for 2,081 yards and 21 touchdowns in 2016.
Hill has coached 27 all-conference selections in his four seasons at Northwest, including quarterback Jacob Free (Troy), offensive linemen Lavante Epson, Jr. (FAU), Damien Lewis (LSU), a two-time NJCAA All-American and J.R. Burns (Murray State) and running backs Tywun Walters (South Alabama) and Kevin Perkins (Southern Miss).
Hill arrived at Oxford High School in 2008 and his offense was one of the premier in the state in the last five seasons in numerous categories. The Chargers advanced to the playoffs in six of his eight seasons, including three consecutive 5A state title games, and posted double digit wins in each of the past four seasons.
Hill grew up in a very athletic family, the son of legendary Oxford High School coach Johnny Hill and the youngest of four brothers who were also all-star athletes.
Hill played collegiately at Marshall University from 2001-04, quarterbacking the Thundering Herd to a combined 36-14 record, 2002 MAC Championship and two GMAC bowl victories over East Carolina and Louisville.
Hill threw for 4,711 career yards (10th in school history) and 38 touchdowns (8th, school history) and also rushed for six career touchdowns, including a last-second 1-yard run in place of an injured Byron Leftwich to beat Ben Roethlisberger and Miami (Ohio) on Nov. 13, 2002.
As a junior, Hill’s 165.9 quarterback rating was the second-highest in the nation while his 69.6 completion percentage ranked fourth nationally. Entering his senior season, he was one of 22 candidates for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and was named to the Davey O’Brien Award Watch List.
After graduation from Marshall, Hill tried out for several NFL teams before going on to play in the Arena Football League (AFL) with Memphis, Oklahoma City and New Orleans.
He signed with the Memphis Xplorers AFL2 franchise, then was traded to Bossier City where he suffered a season-ending injury after only three games. Hill was then named the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz’s starting quarterback, beating out three others for the job, and went on to be named conference MVP.
Hampered by injuries, Hill eventually had to hang up playing the game he loved and decided to turn his attention to coaching.
Hill is married to the former Lauren Scott, an all-conference women’s soccer player at Marshall, and the couple have three boys Wade (15), Tate (13) and Reed (10).
