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AROUND THE SHIELD — Taysom Hill added a new position to his NFL repertoire with a touchdown on a fullback dive for the New Orleans Saints during the NFL preseason.
The former BYU quarterback has played a variety of positions as he enters his eighth year in the league, including quarterback, wide receiver, tight end, kick returner and special teams rusher.
Is there a position that Hill can't play? That was the question posed by FanDuel TV's Kay Adams during a visit to Saints training camp. And New Orleans head coach Dennis Allen had an answer.
"Early on, we kind of thought about making him a SAM linebacker. I'm not kidding; we talked about that," said Allen, who was the Saints defensive coordinator from 2015-21. "But the head coach at the time wasn't giving up anything. Now we've got him doing so many things — fullback, runner — there are only so many ball players a guy can play.
"I'd play him at SAM linebacker, and I'd rush him about 50% of the time."
#Saints HC Dennis Allen really thought about putting QB Taysom Hill at LINEBACKER 🤯
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) August 22, 2024
"I'd play him at Sam linebacker and rush him about 50 percent of the time." 🗣️@heykayadams@T_Hill4@Saints#WhoDatpic.twitter.com/xI4Zb7VUfG
The Saints wrap up the NFL preseason Sunday against the Tennessee Titans (12 p.m. MDT).
Former Utah star Sione Vaki has 'phenomenal' voice, too
Former Utah safety and running back Sione Vaki has been turning heads since the Detroit Lions drafted him with the 132nd pick in the fourth round of April's NFL draft.
But he piqued head coach Dan Campbell's interest even more for non-football reasons.
The Lions held an annual rookie talent show, per the Detroit News, and Vaki stood up and belted one of his favorite tunes as part of the competition that impressed Campbell and each of his teammates.
"Vaki's voice was — the performance was ehhh. But the voice? It was pretty phenomenal," Campbell later told reporters Wednesday.
.@sione_vaki got some good singing chops fr 😭
— NFL (@NFL) August 21, 2024
(via @Lions) pic.twitter.com/wqdzoOaPcw
Vaki will try to make the 53-man roster in a running back group led by Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery after the Lions' preseason finale Saturday against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Isaac Rex signs with LA Chargers
Former BYU tight end Isaac Rex is back on an NFL roster a week before the final preseason game.
The son of former BYU star Byron Rex went undrafted in April before signing as an undrafted free agent with the Lions. Rex, who had 112 catches for 1,385 yards and 24 touchdowns in his career with the Cougars, was waived by Detroit in May.
That made him available for the Chargers, who added Rex following a corresponding move Thursday dropping defensive lineman Michael Mason.
Rex joins Hayden Hurst, Will Disney, Donald Parham, Stone Smartt, Zach Heins, Luke Benson and Tucker Fisk as listed on LA's roster at tight end, per NBC's Pro Football Talk.
