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PROVO — On Oct. 2, Taysom Hill was a Heisman candidate in the national spotlight leading an undefeated BYU team ranked 18th in the country. On Oct. 3 at home in a loss against the Utah State Aggies, Hill saw his season end with a broken leg, and he knew it pretty quickly.
“I remember the play, I remember thinking that, hey I just broke my leg,” Hill said. “When it happened I immediately reached down and grabbed my leg in pain and then walked off the field. As they were examining me I finally just told them, like look Steve, our trainer, it's broken.”
Hill is six weeks into his six-month recovery and says that rehab is getting more intense, but he is on schedule. This isn’t the first time Hill has suffered a significant season-ending injury during a Utah State game; in 2012 he injured his LCL six weeks into the season. Hill says that experience helped and this time is different, he is now married and in the midst of the intense BYU junior core finance program. He said he’s been able to take his competitive fire and aim it at academics, but more importantly marriage has given him perspective.
“As much as I love to play football, football was always going to be a means to an end,” Hill said. “Hopefully my career is long, but again, it’s a means to an end.”
This is the first time Hill’s spoken to the media since the injury and he gave details on his career and what his future entails. It’s been speculated that Hill could go pro now. He was asked if he will return for his senior season. Cougar fans will be happy to hear his simple answer.
“That’s the plan, yeah,” Hill said.
I remember the play, I remember thinking that, hey I just broke my leg. When it happened I immediately reached down and grabbed my leg in pain and then walked off the field. As they were examining me I finally just told them, like look Steve, our trainer, it's broken.
–Taysom Hill
Hill said he’s had conversations about forgoing his senior season, but there is more to life than football. He will graduate next December with his finance degree and says leaving doesn’t make a lot of sense. As for his future at BYU, Hill said he will participate in spring camp in some form, but probably not full contact. Next fall it is expected Hill will be ready to go full-bore.
After two season-ending injuries, the question is, will he continue to run and draw large amounts of contact? Hill was asked if the injury stemmed from too much running or just a fluke play. He said it could’ve happened to anybody and each day you put a helmet on you could get injured. However he also spoke about the heavy exposure from the amount of carries he took, and the amount of plays the team runs because of the hurry-up style. Will he run less?
“Going forward I would like to do everything that I can to minimize that risk,” Hill said.
BYU has missed not only Hill’s athletic production but also his intangible leadership on and off the field. Hill was able to return to the sideline Saturday during the UNLV game, and he spoke to the team.
“My words were basically, I want to see all you guys succeed, I want to see you guys do really well,” Hill said. “I’m your biggest cheerleader, so I hope I was able to help in that way — just let them know I’m there to support them.”
Hill said he has especially tried to be there for his good friend and replacement Christian Stewart, but that Stewart is smart and hasn’t needed his help with the game plans. Hill also said he hopes to mean more to the guys than what he does with the ball, and he likes feeling needed as a friend or coach.
BYU has faced a lot of injury adversity this season, and Hill will return to a team with more youth and experience than expected. Looking forward to next season, Hill said he is excited about working hard, playing with those guys and facing a strong schedule. He wants to use that schedule to show on the national stage what the program can do and what he can do as an individual.
On the other side of the future are the many seniors graduating after this season. Hill said many of his more intimate conversations took place with seniors.
“Knowing that I’m not going to have the opportunity to play with those guys again,” Hill said, “the basis of that conversation has been I’m grateful for your example, for your friendship, for your hard work, and all the memories that we’ve been able to create.”
BYU will welcome Savannah State to LaVell Edwards Stadium this Saturday at 1 p.m. for the seniors' final home game. They’ll finish the regular season at Cal next Saturday before taking their talents to South Beach for the Miami Beach Bowl on Dec. 2 at Marlins Park. Mitchell Marshall is a KSL Sports Radio intern and broadcast journalism student at Brigham Young University, where he anchors and produces sports. Find him @mitchellive on Twitter.
