A lot of that competitive nature was instilled in me with my brother Dex. It was easy to change my number to his (7), because 4 didn’t have any particularly significance to me. I’ll wear his number to commemorate him and show my love and support. – Taysom Hill
Taysom Hill is building himself from the ground up.
He has to.
Ever since the Lisfranc injury to his right foot in BYU’s season opener at Nebraska in 2015, he’s focused on the day he could return to the field. This time he’ll compete with Tanner Mangum come August two-a-days for the opportunity to start against Arizona in Glendale, Arizona.
Hill knows uphill.
He’s been fighting injuries his entire BYU career. He’s logged thousands of hours in rehab. He’s come back from leg fractures, detached ligaments and now this. The force at which his Captain America body tests his musculature is impressive in terms of the laws of physics.
And that may be part of the challenge for this senior BYU quarterback: He’s too strong.
It’s a natural part of his mentality.
Taysom grew up around older brothers Jordan and Dex who were eager and anxious slaves to the sweat and energy produced in weight rooms. They lifted weights like they were bags of candy. They loved it. A wide-eyed Taysom saw their passion and it inspired him to his core.
This winter Taysom has spent hours with trainers, physicians and conditioning experts. He’s had his Lisfranc case reviewed by at least five different doctors. He’s carefully and patiently gone through each step of protocols.
The other day head coach Kalani Sitake watched as Taysom dunked a basketball. He was impressed. Then Sitake told Hill to stop.
Historically, Hill has lifted weights with linemen. He has the workout mentality of a linebacker.
How much can he squat lift right now? “I did a back squat of 500, then they stopped me,” he said. “My goal was to get to 600, but they won’t let me.”
How much can he bench press? “I can do 340, but they want me to keep it to 315.”
In the realm of football players who can back squat 500 pounds, that is a remarkable amount of weight. Most guys who do that are big linemen and linebackers because they have the frame and muscles for it. It speaks to Hill’s remarkable strength that a QB — usually known to avoid the weight room — can hoist that much dead weight.
At Nebraska, Hill got injured in the second quarter. He returned and played in the one play into the fourth quarter. After the injury, which he was told he could not further damage, he completed 12 passes, got sacked twice and had a run of 35 yards.
It’s what Dex and Jordan would have done.
“Dex was the closest to me in age so growing up a lot of time in the front yard was with him. Every night we had a competition. We had a competition we were going to run five patterns and if you threw the ball on the money you were one for one. That’s how my childhood was. He taught me how to compete and to never give up. A lot of that competitive nature was instilled in me with my brother Dex. It was easy to change my number to his (7), because 4 didn’t have any particularly significance to me. I’ll wear his number to commemorate him and show my love and support.”
Jordan, who played at Arizona State, set a great example. “I’m a very observant person. I was very close to my dad and brothers.
“I’d talk to Jordan all the time. I heard stories of what they (ASU) were doing in the offseason and of him setting the squat record at Arizona State. I know he was there every day working his butt off. He just works.
“Dex and Jordan were the ultimate competitors. I observed that. It was a natural progression that I followed their example.”
In Hill's high school weight room in Pocatello, the names of his brothers were on the wall alongside weight lifting records they had set. “I felt a great responsibility to live up to their example.”
Now, at BYU with that same mentality, he adds weights to his workout. He says he has a strength coach behind him “giving me grief” to take weight off the bar.
Will Hill be ready come August two-a-days?
If he isn’t, it won’t be for lack of trying.
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