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PROVO — Taysom Hill is set to make the final start of his career at LaVell Edwards Stadium this Saturday against Utah State. It’s Senior Night, and Hill will be remembered alongside the rest of the seniors suiting up for their last time in Provo before the game.
But how will Hill be remembered long-term?
It’s not difficult to think back over Hill’s career at BYU and remember the brilliance of the individual highlights he made with dramatic runs in wins over Texas, or big passing games over teams like Houston and UConn.
His repeated return from injury, through grueling rehab after grueling rehab, is the thing legends are made of.
Seemingly miraculously, Hill returned from another season-ending injury suffered in 2015, and has led BYU to a 7-4 season against one of the toughest schedules the team has ever faced. The Cougars appear to have winnable games in the season’s final game against Utah State and their bowl matchup against a Mountain West Conference team.
How does he measure up statistically?
Hill currently sits at 11th in BYU’s history for career passing yards. With two games to play, Hill needs 636 yards to catch Steve Sarkisian and move into the top 10 in the school’s history. It’s not likely, but certainly not impossible to make up that yardage over the final two games of his career.
Hill has 74 career touchdowns, 42 through the air and 32 on the ground. He’s 14th all-time in passing touchdowns, but a staggering fourth in rushing touchdowns, exchanging his place in the top three with fellow senior Jamaal Williams. Hill’s 74 touchdowns are tied with NFL Hall-of-Famer Steve Young for fifth in BYU history, a position he’ll most assuredly own outright after Saturday’s game against Utah State.
Hill is undisputedly an all-time great rusher at BYU, becoming the fifth all-time leader in rushing yards this season for the Cougars. Hill is 204 yards shy of Jamal Willis for fourth all-time, again reachable with two prolific rushing games to end the season.
While Hill’s passing 58 percent completion percentage has often been at the focal point of his negative critiques, his 66 percent winning percentage in 36 career starts attests to his effectiveness as a QB.
Hill is not without his faults.
Hill has missed 27 career starts due to injury, significantly lowering his numbers, and BYU’s potential as a program when he was out. His inefficiency as a passer has limited BYU’s offense throughout his career, and the QB failed to beat the University of Utah in the three rivalry games in which he appeared. Hill is also winless in his one career bowl appearance, a loss to Washington in 2013.
Hill will suit up for the final time at LaVell Edwards Stadium this Saturday, nearing the end of a truly prolific career at BYU. While his statistics as a quarterback don’t always rival those of other all-time great passers at Quarterback U like Ty Detmer, Max Hall and Jim McMahon, his overall effectiveness as an offensive player is impossible to argue with. Beyond his statistical accomplishments, his role as a leader, and winner, while coming back from several injuries and continuing to make highlight reel plays, has endeared him to Cougar fans forever. However you want to measure it, Hill will and deserves to be remembered as one of the best to ever suit up at BYU.
