I look up to my brother so much. I look at a lot of my competitiveness and motivation to play, and excel in, college football, it came from him. – Taysom Hill
PROVO — Filled with grief after the unexpected death of his older brother, Dexter, last spring, BYU senior quarterback Taysom Hill was driving home to Idaho attend the funeral.
“At his passing,” Hill said, “I had this struggle of what do I do to make sure that my brother is still part of everything I do.”
Suddenly, sometime during that three-hour drive from Provo to Pocatello, inspiration struck.
“It hit me,” Hill recalled during Media Day on June 30. “I’m going to wear his number. That’s something that I can do from a public standpoint to make sure that everything I do, he’s a part of it.”
That’s why Hill decided to switch his jersey from No. 4 to No. 7 this fall — to honor his brother, who is six years older.
Dexter Hill died March 25 at his parents’ home in Pocatello. Like Taysom, Dexter, who wore No. 7, was a quarterback who played at Scottsdale Community College in Arizona, then at Northern Iowa, before finishing his collegiate career at Dixie State.
“I look up to my brother so much,” Taysom said. “I look at a lot of my competitiveness and motivation to play, and excel in, college football, it came from him.”
Coach Kalani Sitake and offensive coordinator Ty Detmer were among several BYU officials who attended Dexter’s funeral.
“Taysom comes from a great family,” Sitake said. “It was a cool experience. I think he’s motivated to do well this fall. He was already motivated, but it shows the type of strength that he comes from.”
Dexter’s death came just one day before BYU’s spring game and Taysom was excused from the event. Prior to the start of the spring game, BYU players knelt at midfield for a prayer on behalf of Hill and his family.
Taysom Hill is no stranger to adversity.
Three of Hill’s four seasons as a Cougar have been cut short due to injuries. The most recent came in the first half in last year’s season-opener at Nebraska.
Hill said that while he’s “feeling really good,” he acknowledges that coming back from this foot injury has been difficult.
“This injury has been quite a bit different to rehab from. I wouldn’t wish a Lisfranc injury on anybody,” Hill said. “Between the training staff and the doctors, we’ve literally exhausted every avenue to get healthy and recover. I’m really happy with my progress. I’m basically doing everything with the team, no limitations. The foot has responded well. … There’s been more soreness involved with my foot. It’s hard to get off your foot and allow the proper time to recover. It takes a longer time.”
Of course the Cougars are thrilled to have him back for one more season.
“It’s always great to have Taysom on the team because Taysom does what he does and he’s great at it,” said senior running back Jamaal Williams.
Hill, a finance graduate, will be a graduate research assistant with a professor this fall and he’ll continue to work at his internship, as a financial analyst, with a family trust fund firm.
Many wonder if the dynamic Hill, who is BYU's career leader in quarterback rushing yards (2,212), will change his style of play to avoid injuries in the future.
“I just want to win. This is the conversation I’ve has since my freshman year here, right?” Hill said. “You guys ask, ‘What are you doing to stay healthy? Are you going to slide?’ My response is, ‘I’m going to do what it takes to win a football game.’ That’s my mentality.”
Hill has experienced his fair share of trials during his time at BYU and he’s one of the team’s strongest leaders. He hopes to set an example for his teammates in regard to how to deal with adverse circumstances, both on and off the field.
“I want my teammates to look at me and know that we’ve got this covered. I am consciously always thinking about how I react to situations,” Hill said. “I don’t want to put off negative vibes to my teammates. That’s kind of my leadership mentality. My leadership mentality is to outwork everybody else around me and hopefully the guys respond well to that and work harder for themselves. How they respond to that, I don’t know. But that’s my mentality. That’s what I think about.”
EMAIL: jeffc@deseretnews.com