Nestled in the Green Hills region of northern Missouri sits the small town of Trenton. It’s the county seat of Grundy County and was once the world’s largest producer of Vienna sausages. Eventually Trenton lost that title to larger cities. Still a charming community with a population of about 5,600, Trenton may now be best known as the hometown of Missouri Sports Hall of Famer Andy Hill.
Born in 1962 to Richard P. and Patsy Hill, Andy grew up in an environment where asphalt playgrounds, basketball courts, baseball diamonds, and football fields were a constant invitation to play. Joined by Rich, his younger brother by three years, Andy quickly connected to almost every sport he could find.
“In Trenton, you are outside all the time. Our dad fostered opportunities to fish, hunt, and play sports,” he explained. “Rich and I just jumped in and had fun.”
From an early age, Hill’s athletic ability and fierce competitiveness were impossible to miss. “I was undersized my whole life, so I always wanted to show I could compete with anyone,” he said.
Whether it was basketball, wrestling, football, golf, track, or American Legion baseball, Hill attacked each challenge with the same relentless drive that offset any size differential.
The Hill brothers were extremely close growing up, and the bond became stronger when their mother passed away from cancer. Andy was 15 years old at the time; Rich was just 12.
In the years that followed, the Hill trio were almost inseparable. “We just started doing everything together. Our dad was an outdoorsman, and we followed his path.”
That path, which was part unpredictable and part inevitable, guided Hill toward three constants in his life: loyalty to his hometown, devotion to Missouri football, and a lifelong passion for the Kansas City Chiefs.
“Growing up, I was surrounded by relatives, including my dad, who all attended the University of Missouri. The Chiefs were our favorite pro football team, and it was natural to follow both,” recalled Hill. “My seventh birthday was the same day the Chiefs won their first Super Bowl in 1969. I had a Chiefs Super Bowl sweatshirt, and I can remember wearing it everywhere” — a possible foreshadowing of what would come later in his career.
Trenton to Tiger Town
By his senior year at Trenton High School, Hill had emerged as a standout running back. His teammate and close friend, quarterback Brad Perry, was drawing interest from the University of Missouri football staff.
“Brad went on an official visit to Mizzou, and I just tagged along,” Hill explained. “Clay Cooper was the Missouri football recruiting coordinator, and his focus was on Brad. I already knew I was going to MU for college, so I asked Coach Cooper if I could walk on. He was familiar with my ability, and he said yes.”
Once the pair arrived in Columbia in the fall of 1980, they entered a world of the unknown.
“We were wide-eyed, not knowing what to expect. Had it not been for seniors like Phil Bradley, Howard Richards, and Eric Wright making sure we felt like part of the team, I’m not sure when I would have fit in,” Hill said.
The 5’9” walk-on wasn’t even sure what position he was going to play. After a rotation of position meetings, he landed with the receivers. As a walk-on, that meant starting at the bottom of the depth chart.
“The summer before I went to Mizzou was extremely hot. Back in Trenton, I worked outside all day. A quick round of golf in the early morning, coaching Legion baseball from 9 a.m. until noon. Lunch break, then we had to prepare the baseball fields for the games that night where we would umpire until 10 p.m. We did that every day.”
Those long, exhausting days became an unexpected advantage when Missouri’s grueling two-a- day practices began.
“I was used to it. I could do 50 reps and not feel tired.” Hill said with a smile. “I started out at the bottom, seventh string on the depth chart. As the weeks went on, guys couldn’t handle the high temperatures, especially when we practiced in full pads. As they dropped off, I kept climbing and outworking the other receivers. By the time the season started, I was MU’s second-string receiver, and I got to play in the first game my freshman year.”
Hill’s rapid rise resonated throughout Trenton.
“There’s an underdog mentality baked in at a young age. There is an eagerness to prove that even though you came from a little dot on the map, you can do great things and compete with the best at whatever it is you love to do,” explained Trenton native Joe Walljasper. “So, when one of your own actually does it, like Andy did, everyone in town felt a little pride in that accomplishment.”
Head coach Warren Powers took notice, making Hill a key part of the Tigers offense over the next four seasons. Highlights included a 10-0 win in 1983 over powerhouse Oklahoma, a tilt that saw him score the only touchdown of the game.
“When I was a kid, just hearing Andy Hill and Trenton, Missouri, on the radio broadcasts was a huge thrill,” Walljasper remembered.
Hill always knew he was playing for more than himself. Trenton was part of his identity. He would compete in three bowl games; the final one came in 1983 when the Tigers faced future NFL Hall of Famer Steve Young and the Brigham Young University Cougars in the Holiday Bowl. The Tigers led 17-14 late in the fourth quarter, but with 23 seconds remaining, BYU called a “flea-flicker” play that saw Young score the game-winning touchdown. It would be Hill’s last bowl game as a Tiger, but far from the end of his journey in college football.
Cues to Coach
Coaching wasn’t initially on Hill’s radar, though others saw his potential long before he did. During his senior season, Missouri assistant coach Jim Donnan, who would later become the head coach at Georgia, told Hill he should pursue the profession.
Other Missouri assistant coaches, including Mike Price, Clay Cooper, and Mike Wade echoed the same encouragement. Even friends outside of football did, too.
Missouri basketball great Jon Sundvold once told him, “If I ever have kids, I would want you to coach them.”
But Hill hesitated, largely because he had seen firsthand how unstable the profession could be.
“Coach Powers was Andy’s head coach,” explained his wife, Sarah. “He led those teams to three bowl games and was named AP National Coach of the Year in 1983.”
A year later, after tallying a 3-7-1 record, he was fired. Hill was a senior in that campaign, and Powers’ sacking brought home to him the volatility of the coaching profession.
After he and Sarah married in July 1992, career considerations were now joint decisions, and together they decided he should explore other options. He worked at American Bank, Edward D. Jones, and Learfield Communications. He did well, but something was missing.
“Money was not a motivator for me,” Hill said. “The ability to compete was the driving factor.”
Football still provided that spark, and coaching connections brought him back to the sport he loved. While Hill was running the Edward Jones office in Brookfield, Missouri, he connected with Sam Pittman, then the head football coach at Trenton High School. Pittman joined the chorus of people urging Hill toward coaching.
He finally took the leap, starting humbly as a volunteer coach at Southern Methodist University under one of his former coaches, Mike Wade. Meanwhile, Pittman was named the head coach at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas. Pittman, who later became the head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks, hired Hill as the team’s offensive coordinator. Those early years in coaching ignited his passion for the profession.
When Pittman moved on, HCC promoted Hill to head coach in 1994. With his outgoing personality, extraordinary ability to relate to people, and deep understanding of the game, Hill took the reins and led the Blue Dragons to success. Over two seasons, Hill’s teams had a combined record of 18-6, including a 10-2 campaign in 1995. The same year he was named the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Coach of the Year.
Relentless Recruiter
The term “great guy” became synonymous with the name Andy Hill. Kansas City Head Coach Andy Reid once said, “He is Mr. Missouri. He knows everybody, and when I say that, I mean everybody.”
By 1994 Larry Smith was the head coach at Missouri. His head coaching experience stretched back to 1976, so he had plenty of connections to build his coaching staff. The first two seasons were shaky, as Smith and his staff tried to build inroads to keep the top in-state talent from going elsewhere. Since his arrival in Columbia, Smith was made aware of the talented young coach at Hutchinson Community College, a 32-year-old with head coaching experience, an appealing personality, and a reputation as a relentless recruiter.
In 1996, Smith had an opening on his staff, and he hired Hill to coach Missouri’s wide receivers. Hill was back home, and a statewide enthusiasm followed.
It seemed Reid’s assessment was accurate: Hill knew everybody, and he wasted no time engaging his connections.
“Every high school coach in Missouri knew him,” said Sundvold. “He could walk into a room full of people, and by the time he left, he would have met everyone and called them by their name as he said good-bye. He has a presence that just draws people in. It’s impossible not to like him.”
Hill wasn’t the only young coach Smith offered a career-changing move. Dave Toub, a carryover from the previous staff, was the team’s strength and conditioning coach. When the offensive line coach departed, Smith promoted Toub to that position. Toub and Hill would become fast friends while working together on the offensive side of the ball.
“I just love that guy,” exclaimed Toub. “He is such a natural when he works with the players. They love and respond to him, too.”
Student-athletes across Missouri found out firsthand that if Andy Hill was recruiting you, odds were, you would be committing to Mizzou. During his 24-year coaching career at Missouri, Hill signed some of the most productive in-state football players ever to wear the black and gold uniform.
“Coach Hill was genuine, and you realized it immediately,” said former all-American defensive end Justin Smith. “Once I met him, I knew I was going to Missouri.”
Smith would go on to set records at MU before becoming the fourth overall pick in the 2001 NFL draft. He played fourteen seasons in the NFL and still views Hill as one of his all-time favorite coaches.
“The dude just outworked everyone,” Smith said. “He recruited back when it was really hard. No cell phones, texting, or instant highlights. He drove everywhere and met with recruits in person at their high school and in their homes. Coaches, parents, and players just love him. That’s why he was so good.”
He also had the ability to spot talent and find a way to connect. Kurtis Gregory is a perfect example. One day, Hill was recruiting in rural areas on the west side of Missouri. He stopped in at Santa Fe High School to say hello to the coach and get some names of possible D-1 caliber players. While looking for the football coach, Hill popped in on a freshman class without realizing it.
He spotted an extremely large red-headed student who was folded up in a very uncomfortable position sitting at a tiny desk.
“Who is that? Who is the big kid in the little chair?” asked Hill.
The student was freshman Kurtis Gregory, who at age 15 was already 6’4’’ and weighed 250 pounds. There was a quick introduction, and three years later, Gregory signed a national letter of intent to play for Missouri. Gregory became a four-year starter and team leader on Missouri’s offensive line from 2005 to 2009. Today, the 39-year-old serves as a Missouri state senator.
Gregory was known as a hard worker from a small town who always dreamed of playing football for Missouri. That sounds a lot like the coach who recruited him. It was a playbook Hill continued to follow.
Not far from Santa Fe, another off-the-radar recruit, Tim Barnes, was attending Northwest High School in Hughesville. Barnes was another large Missouri farm kid whom Hill found, recruited, and signed. Barnes went on to anchor the offensive line on the Gary Pinkel squad that ranked in the top ten nationally in three categories: total offense, scoring offense, and passing offense. Tough, reliable, and with an attitude that no one could outplay him, Barnes was a larger version of Andy Hill. He would go on to play seven seasons in the National football league.
The Chase for Chase
It’s impossible to name every recruit Hill helped lure to Mizzou, but one of the most challenging gets was 6’5” tight end Chase Coffman from Raymore-Peculiar High School. Coffman was “it” when it came to top talent in the Kansas City area. He even won the Simone Award honoring the best high school athlete in greater Kansas City.
Needless to say, Coffman was highly recruited. His father played eleven years in the National Football League after he graduated from Kansas State. And the Wildcats weren’t the only obstacle Hill had to overcome while recruiting the young star.
“There was a lot of heat on Mizzou in the KC area. The media wasn’t friendly when reporting about the program,” Coffman explained.
Hill found favor with Coffman and slowly diluted the false narrative he was hearing about Mizzou in the media.
“He was so relatable. He cared and did a great job recruiting me and convincing my dad that MU was the best fit for me,” Coffman said. “He would ask how my parents and girlfriend were doing. He got to know my whole family and the important people in my life. Andy never gave up.”
The recruitment of Chase Coffman was Hill at his best.
“Missouri already had an all-American tight end with Martin Rucker,” Sarah Hill said. “But Andy showed Chase how the two of them could coexist and be standouts at the same time.” It helped that Pinkel’s offensive scheme often featured a two tight-end set.
“Being so young, it was one of the most difficult decisions of my life,” said Coffman. “Andy was genuine, aggressive, but not pushy. We connected.”
When it came time to announce where he was going to play college football, Coffman’s father asked his son how he wanted to do it.
“I’m going to commit to Mizzou, and I want to call Coach Hill and tell him first,” the younger Coffman recalled.
Chase Coffman is regarded as one of the best tight ends to play at MU, along with Rucker, Kellen Winslow, Michael Egnew, Albert Okwuegbunam and A.J. Ofodile. All would play in the NFL.
A Player’s Coach
Hill’s recruiting record often overshadowed his coaching ability, yet he was an effective and versatile coach. During his twenty-four years on the Missouri staff, he variously served as assistant head coach, offensive coordinator, receivers coach, special teams coordinator, and quarterbacks coach.
Ron “Rhino” Janes, a fullback at MU from 1993 to 1997, remembers Hill for his football knowledge. “His ability to diagnose an opponent’s game plan was unreal. He could pick out the small things … like a sign or some tendency a player showed. Then he would call a play to attack that weakness.”
“One of my proudest moments of Andy coaching is his relationship with the players,” Sarah said. “I remember playing seventh-ranked Georgia in 2013. Our starting quarterback (James Franklin) had to leave the game with a shoulder injury. Maty Mauk was the backup, and he was a freshman. When James went out, I watched Andy walk over to Maty, put his hands on his shoulders, and calmly ask him, ‘What are you comfortable doing? We are only going to call plays you feel comfortable running.’”
The Tigers simplified the offense to some degree but felt confident enough to call a trick play. On his first drive, Mauk connected with receiver Bud Sasser, who then threw a touchdown pass to fellow receiver L’Damian Washington for the game’s most memorable touchdown. Missouri upset Georgia in Athens that day.
“You can never accurately gauge the overall impact Andy Hill has made on Missouri football,” Janes said. “He will always be a part of Mizzou.”
