Taysom Hill

Taysom Shawn Hill (born August 23, 1990) is an American football quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played collegiate football for the BYU Cougars.

Although listed as a backup quarterback on the official Saints depth chart, Hill also serves as a kick returner and utility player. In total, Hill has taken snaps at seven different positions on offense and special teams. Hill's wide array of utilization has earned him a reputation as one of the most unique and versatile players in NFL.

Early years
Born and raised in Pocatello, Idaho, Hill lettered in football, basketball, and track at Highland High School and graduated in 2009. As a senior, he threw for 2,269 yards and 18 touchdowns, and rushed for 1,491 yards and 24 touchdowns, earning the All-Idaho Player of the Year, Gatorade High School Player of the Year, First Team All-State selection and earned All-Region and All-Conference Player of the Year accolades. He holds the school single-season and career records for total offense.

In track, Hill competed in the 200 meters and long jump. As a sophomore at the 2007 5A District IV/V/VI Regional Meet, he recorded a personal-best time of 22.5 seconds in the 200 m, placing third, and ran the fourth leg on the 4 × 200 m relay squad, helping the Rams to 1:31.41 and a first-place finish. As a senior, he won the long jump event at the 2009 5A Regional Meet, with a mark of 6.85m.

College career
Coming out of high school in 2009, Hill had multiple offers from programs in the West, including University of Arizona, Boise State University, Oregon State University, Washington State University, University of Utah, Stanford University, and Brigham Young University.

Heavily recruited by head coach Jim Harbaugh, Hill had originally committed to Stanford, but during his LDS church mission, he was informed that Stanford did not allow incoming freshmen to join the team until June. As a result, he decided to go to Brigham Young instead.

In his freshman season of 2012, Hill was the #2 QB on the depth chart. He was initially brought in for special packages to utilize his athleticism in short-yardage situations. His very first play from scrimmage in college was an 18-yard touchdown pass against Washington State in the home opener. Hill wound up playing in 6 games for the 2012 campaign, having started 2 (winning in both starts), before suffering a season-ending knee injury in the closing seconds of a victory over Utah State.

Hill entered the 2013 season as BYU's starting quarterback. After a tough 19–16 loss in the season opener at Virginia, he bounced back the following week against Texas, with 259 yards rushing and three touchdowns in a 40–21 win. In 2014, Hill sustained a fractured leg against Utah State on October 3, ending his season. BYU lost their first game of the season that night.

Hill suffered a lisfranc fracture during the 2015 season opener against Nebraska on September 5. After the game, BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall announced that the injury would cost Hill the rest of the season. On February 16, Hill announced that he would be returning to BYU in 2016, instead of pursuing options to play at another school as a graduate transfer. He was granted a medical redshirt for 2015 and was eligible for one final season in 2016. On August 23, Hill was named the starting quarterback over sophomore Tanner Mangum, who had started after Hill's injury in the preceding season. Hill changed his jersey number from 4 to 7 to honor his older brother Dexter, who died earlier in 2016 and who wore No. 7 as a player.

Late in 2016, Hill suffered a fourth season-ending injury. Against in-state rival Utah State on November 26, he went down with a hyper-extended elbow injury in the fourth quarter, and was unable to finish the season.

Professional career
Hill showed impressive athletic ability at BYU's pro day. His 40-yard dash of 4.44 seconds and 38.5-inch vertical jump would have finished first among all participating quarterbacks at the 2017 NFL Combine, beating Texas A&M’s Trevor Knight's 4.54-second 40 dash and 35.5-inch vertical.

Green Bay Packers
Unselected in the 2017 NFL Draft, Hill signed with the Green Bay Packers as a free agent on May 5. He appeared in three preseason games with the Packers; he completed 14 of 20 passes, threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, but was waived on September 2, 2017.

New Orleans Saints
A day later on September 3, 2017, Hill was claimed off waivers by the New Orleans Saints. He was promoted to the active roster on December 3 and appeared in a total of twelve special teams plays against the Carolina Panthers. In his NFL debut, Hill recorded two tackles on the Panthers' kick returner Fozzy Whittaker.

In the 2018 season, Hill was the third-string quarterback and was also used in a variety of positions, becoming the Saints' primary kick returner. In their 21–18 win over the Cleveland Browns on September 16, he returned his first kick 47 yards. The next week against the Atlanta Falcons, he had his most versatile performance in his NFL career. Hill returned three kicks for 64 yards, and made a tackle on a punt on special teams. He also rushed the ball three times for 39 yards, and was used often as a tight end to block defenders. Against the New York Giants on September 30, Hill completed his first career pass in the NFL on a fake punt for 10 yards. He also rushed four times for 28 yards, continuing to line up at receiver on offense and still being the primary kick returner. Against the Washington Redskins, Hill rushed five times for 24 yards, including his first career touchdown run in a 43–19 victory. In the 30–20 Sunday Night Football win at Minnesota on October 28, Hill set up the Saints’ first touchdown of the game by completing a 44-yard pass to receiver Michael Thomas, for his second pass completion of the year. During the Week 14 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Hill blocked a punt from Bryan Anger, which led to a touchdown that propelled the Saints to a come from behind 28–14 win, enabling them to clinch the division title. He was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. He finished the year with 37 carries for 196 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns, three receptions for four yards, and passed for 64 yards and an interception. In addition, he had 14 kickoff returns for 348 net yards for a 24.86 average. In the Saints' Divisional Round game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Hill made a key play as a utility player, running for a first down on a fake punt to begin the Saints' comeback victory. In the NFC Championship, against the Los Angeles Rams, Hill recorded a touchdown reception in the 26–23 overtime loss.

Personal life
Hill is the youngest of four children of Doug and Natalie Hill. He was named after Taysom Rotary Park located in his hometown of Pocatello, Idaho.

Hill is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served as a missionary for the church in Sydney, Australia from 2009 to 2011. He married his wife, Emily Nixon Hill, in 2014 in the Salt Lake Temple. Hill's brother-in-law is former BYU and NFL linebacker David Nixon.