B.J. Hill, Johns Hopkins defensive coordinator and former Christopher Newport safety, still laces them up and gets on the field with the Blue Jays in practice. Johns Hopkins athletics photo

By Brian Lester
D3sports.com

If there is an example that highlights how young the Johns Hopkins coaching staff is, it’s defensive coordinator BJ Hill lacing up his cleats and still competing with his players in practice.

At age 29, the former two-time team captain at Christopher Newport has still got it. Sort of.

“I don’t stretch as well anymore and pulled hamstrings happen more, but it allows me to have fun with the guys and talk with them on a different level,” Hill said.

The players enjoy it.

“When I first started, everyone was having fun with it. Until they realize I can still run,” Hill said. “Sometimes I will line up in front of them like they are the receiver and I’m the DB. They always say I’m getting too old for this. There’s a lot of back and forth. It’s pretty fun.”

Senior defensive back Carson Bourdo said it is fun seeing one of his coaches get after it, though he questions Hill’s speed.

“He still has some athletic ability left and will put his cleats on and race us. He lets us know he is still faster than us, even though he’s not,” Bourdo said. “We play (intramural) basketball together in the winter. It’s fun to go out there with him on the field and see his ability to push us.”

Even on the offensive side of the ball, the youth of the staff of the Blue Jays (2-0), the third-ranked team in the D3football.com, poll shines through.

Offensive coordinator Alex Horvatits, 29, has been with the program since 2020. He played college football at Thiel and said he has gotten involved on the field with his players as well in the past, though not as often now since he coaches the quarterbacks.

“Coach Hill is crazy,” Horvatits said with a laugh. “I don’t do it as much as I used to, but when I was coaching receivers, if my knuckles weren’t bloody during ball security drills, I would take that as a loss. “Every now and then I still get my knuckles dirty and run a route or throw a football if I need to.”

Horvatits and Hill are two of eight full-time coaches on head coach Dan Wodicka’s staff. The average age among the eight is 27. Wodicka is the oldest. He’s 33.

There are also four part-time coaches on the staff, and eight of the 12 are 29 or younger. Including them into the equation pushes the average age to 31.8.

Wodicka is in his second year as the head coach of the program he once played for and said there’s a lot of energy and enthusiasm among the coaches on staff. And he admits, being in his early 30s, he feels old.

“It’s crazy for me. At 33, I look around and say ‘wow, now I’m the old guy in the office,” Wodicka said. “Even the little things, like what music is popular or what TV shows are popular, you notice how old you are getting. But l love our staff. We bring a lot of energy to the office.”

Of course, there are days when Wodicka can’t believe, at his age, that he’s at the helm of one of the top programs in Division III football. Johns Hopkins was ranked in the Top 25 all last season and reached the national semifinals, tying a program record for wins (12) along the way.

Dan Wodicka likes the energy his young coaching staff brings to the team. Johns Hopkins athletics photo

“I do have imposter syndrome a lot,” Wodicka said. “It definitely hits me at times, but I played for and coached for amazing coaches in my career and I feel I’ve been able to take different bits and pieces from those coaches and use that in my job.

“I don’t have all the answers, but I know I can reach out to my coaching network for help,” Wodicka continued. “I owe a lot to coach (Jim) Margraff and coach (Greg) Chimera, and what they did here. Me hopping on board here, I’m trying to keep the train on the track. It’s been fun. And being an alum, the program means a lot to me.”

Now, for the record, there is one coach on staff who beats out Wodicka in age. Chris Fallon is 66. He left Johns Hopkins after the 2007 season and returned in 2019 after Margraff passed away. (When he's not factored in, the average age of the staff is 28.7.)

He admires how the young staff operates and loves the dynamic of it.

“The full-time staff is comprised of a great group of young guys,” Fallon said. “They are dedicated to these student-athletes and they have great football minds. Without both ingredients, Hopkins football would not have this level of success.”

One benefit of a younger staff is that most coaches aren’t too far removed from their playing days. And most played Division III football.

“It’s huge to relate to the players that way,” Wodicka said. “We have some amazing young coaches that not too long ago were literally in these players’ shoes.”

Alex Horvatits, age 29, has been with the JHU Blue Jays staff since 2020. Johns Hopkins athletics photo

Horvatits will tell you it definitely makes a difference.

“The connection is definitely there,” Horvatits said. “Getting a little older, you lose some of the Tik Tok references, but you get to connect on a personal level. You understand what the athletes are going through.”

Hill agrees.

“It’s everything to be able to relate with the players that way,” Hill said. “You don’t ever hear anyone say, ‘he doesn’t get it’ or ‘he never played’. We can talk about how things are in terms of technique and assignments, and about life in general. I call tell them I have lived in their shoes. I’ve done the things they’ve done. We connect that way.”

Blue Jays quarterback Bay Harvey said having coaches not too far off from their own playing careers almost creates a family-like feel.

“They are very competitive and high energy, and it’s almost like being coached by your older brother at times,” Harvey said. “It creates a great family atmosphere.

“They understand what it is like to play and they take our feedback and incorporate it into game plans, but they balance it with how they want to do things when it comes to scheme,” Harvey added.

Wodicka said having coaches who have played Division III football plays a part in forging a connection with the players as well.

“It’s not completely by design, but they stood out in the interview process,” Wodicka said. “At the D-III level, coaching your position is such a small percentage of your day to day job. A D-III coach wears so many hats. Our coaches understand what this level is about and go with the flow and the punches.”

The staff has a relationship outside the office and all live in close proximity to each other.

“We all connect and are able to talk, laugh, joke and understand each other on a different level, which is really cool,” Hill said. “All of us are young and hungry.”

And they are all always learning as they go.

“I tell people in my first year as the head coach, I learned more than I ever have in my entire life,” Wodicka said. “I continue to adapt and learn from the success and the mistakes and continue to grow.”