BYU’s much-publicized three-way starting quarterback derby has a winner.

Jaren Hall, the 6-foot-1, 205-pound redshirt sophomore from Spanish Fork, will start at quarterback for the Cougars when they face Arizona in the season opener Sept. 4 in Las Vegas, coach Kalani Sitake said Wednesday in conjunction with the release of the depth chart.

Hall earned the nod over Baylor Romney and Jacob Conover in a competition that began the day 2020 starter Zach Wilson announced he was entering the NFL draft.

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Hall, who missed the entire 2020 season with a hip injury, drew national attention when he became the first African American to start a football game at QB for BYU in October 2019 against South Florida.

Hall replaces Wilson, who was the No. 2 pick in last April’s NFL draft by the New York Jets and is projected to be that team’s starter this season.

Hall told the Deseret News in February that he was “laser-focused” on winning the job, which is why he decided not to play baseball this past spring and concentrate solely on football. He played center field for the Cougars baseball team in 2019 and 2020.

In 2019, Hall completed 15 of 23 passes for 148 yards and a touchdown in a 27-23 loss to South Florida in his first start, but left the game early due to injury.

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Three weeks later, he made his second start against Utah State, and played spectacularly in the first half before sustaining a concussion that ended his season. Against the Aggies that night in Logan, Hall completed 12 of 16 passes for 214 yards and also rushed seven times for 54 yards and two TDs.

The son of former BYU running back Kalin Hall, Jaren Hall served a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Roseville, California.

Hall and his wife, former Utah Valley soccer star Breanna McCarter Hall, welcomed a baby daughter to their family in July.

This story will be updated.

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