Prentice Gill tries not to think about the worst nights of his collegiate coaching career. Problem is, hints and reminders sit at every turn of his new job, a job where he is supposed to use those terrible moments as positives to help the program that caused him so much anguish.
“My perception of Arizona State was they broke my heart,” Gill said. “My perception of Arizona State has never been great, I’m not going to lie, just because of how they’ve done me in my coaching career.”
Gill thought back to the first memory of his ASU torture. Then a staff assistant at USC, Gill didn’t even bother to go into the Coliseum locker room post-game that night. He didn’t change out of his coaching attire. He just walked to his car and drove home in silence -- frustration from Jaelen Strong’s Hail Mary catch lingering like a bad breakup.
Then, of course, the image of Brandon Aiyuk’s double-move has painstakingly been etched in his mind. Granted it’s fresh. The then-Oregon offensive analyst was in Tempe last month, on the
near sideline as Jayden Daniels’ lob landed in the pocket of Aiyuk and effectively knocked Gill’s Ducks out of the College Football Playoff.
For now, he seems OK keeping those images on the backburner.
The day after ASU’s Territorial Cup victory, coach Herm Edwards and deputy athletic director Jean Boyd phoned the young Gill. On Saturday, he was officially announced as one of ASU’s new assistant coaches and assistant recruiting coordinator.
As the title itself suggests, Gill is touted as an outstanding recruiter. He grew up in Southern California and his father coached at Narbonne High School. In time, he had formed connections with some of the top prospects around Los Angeles and had relationships with coaches in the area.
One of whom was ASU linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator Antonio Pierce. He said his father introduced him to the former Super Bowl champion when Pierce headed the football program at Long Beach Poly.
Eventually, conversations about future coaching opportunities began.
“Me and him were kind of in the talks a little bit last year,” Gill said of Pierce. “It just happened a little bit sooner than we expected… I blinked and I was in Arizona.”
“Prentice reminds me a lot of (Pierce),” Edwards said. “He’s well-connected in a lot of places. I was with him for a whole week and just watched him go about his business.”
On Monday, he was on ASU’s practice field. And how involved was Gill during his first day on the job? Well, he was the only coach who wore cleats.
Gill and newly-named assistant coach Derek Hagan, who served as an ASU offensive analyst last season, spent the morning working with ASU’s young crop of wide receivers, which won’t have the services of NFL-Draft-bound Aiyuk for the Sun Bowl.
While their exact roles likely won’t be ironed out or announced until offensive coordinator Zak Hill settles in Tempe, it is expected that Gill and Hagan will work with ASU’s receivers and tight ends in some capacity.
After practice one, the duo was already drawing rave reviews.
“They’re both really knowledgeable coaches,” freshman receiver Ricky Pearsall said. “Having two minds is going to be a lot better … Now we’re working on technique, which is going to develop the young receivers that we have.”
Added Frank Darby: “I’m the happiest person in the world right now… It helps me a lot (already knowing Hagan) and I also like Coach P (Gill). He came in and with every detail with every route he’s got us breaking down, doing things the other position coach didn’t have us doing.”
Darby joked he saw this coming. It seemed odd to him that Hagan never ate by himself. When Darby went to the cafeteria, he always noticed Hagan and ASU Special Advisor Marvin Lewis eating and talking together. Darby figured they were cooking something up for the future.
“Then one day I went upstairs and Fish (former receivers coach Charlie Fisher) was cleaning up. I’m like, ‘OK, OK, OK.” Darby said, laughing. “He (Hagan) couldn’t really say too much to me last year but he would chat in my ear a few times and I used to be like, ‘Man you are so right.”
Gill and Hagan, ASU’s all-time leading receiver, had never met before the former landed in Arizona. Since then, they haven’t stopped talking. Already, there seems to be a clear understanding between the two that, for them to both be coaching receivers, it’s imperative they stay on the same page.
At least through one practice and one media session, it seems they are. Ad nauseam, Gill and Hagan admitted that for ASU’s receivers to take the next step, they first have to teach them the basics and fundamentals of the position.
“Some people, they called Tim Duncan ‘Mr. Fundamental,’ Hagan said. “So that’s what I try to teach with my guys. Because everybody’s talented. But what separates you from everybody else? It has to be your details, your fundamentals, your technique -- that’s going to help you in the long run.
“Myself and Prentice are trying to put our own stamp on this receiver group, and we’re trying to turn this school into ‘Wide Receiver U.'"
Perhaps that’s a bit advantageous. But, at least for the next two years, the Sun Devils have the quarterback in Daniels to keep the statement from being complete hyperbole.
Gill has been fortunate when it comes to quarterbacks. At USC, his receivers worked with current New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold. And Oregon, of course, had Justin Herbert, a projected 2020 first-round pick.
Having Daniels in Tempe made accepting the job at ASU that much easier for Gill.
“That was probably the biggest attraction,” he said of Daniels. “I even told my brother, I said, ‘As long as you follow a quarterback, you’ll have a job as a wide-out coach,’… I watched a lot of Jayden, I knew about Jayden in high school for one.
“I’ve been a JD fan before I got here -- I’m in his corner always.”
Join us on our premium message board, the Devils’ Huddle, to discuss this article and other ASU football and recruiting topics. Not a member yet? Sign up today here and join your fellow Sun Devil fans!
