Taysom Hill said he wasn’t done making changes. Two games into the NFL preseason, it’s clear he wasn’t kidding around.
At the start of his eighth season with the New Orleans Saints, the former BYU star continues to evolve as an offensive weapon.
He’s now spending time at tailback and fullback, while continuing to work as a tight end and quarterback and on special teams.
“He’s a great runner, he’s doing his thing. He’s a great athlete. You give him those opportunities, he’s going to take them,” said Hill’s teammate, Jamaal Williams, to reporters about Hill’s performance in Sunday’s preseason game between the Saints and San Francisco 49ers.
Hill scored the Saints’ lone touchdown on Sunday while playing fullback, and it was from that position that he blocked for Williams, who played with him at BYU.
Hill ended the game with five carries for 21 yards and a touchdown, while Williams had five carries for 32 yards.
Jamaal Williams with the Saints
Williams and Hill played together for four seasons at BYU, although each missed significant time with injury.
They “rack(ed) up a combined 1,978 rushing yards and 20 touchdown runs in 2016 and 2,577 rushing yards with 17 scoring runs in 2013. They totaled more than 6,200 rushing yards together from 2012 to 2016,” per Saints Wire from USA Today.
Williams joined Hill on the Saints in March 2023 and played in 13 games last season, missing four because of a hamstring injury.
During Sunday’s game, Williams and Hill had a chance to take first-team reps together, and Hill’s blocking helped make it possible for Williams to make a big 15-yard gain on one play, according to video shared by the Saints on X.
During his press conference after the game, Williams said he’d like running the ball to be a core part of the Saints’ offensive identity this season.
“Run it. Run the ball. Yeah, we ready,” he said.
But he also acknowledged that the team will need to continue to work to build chemistry before the start of the regular season. The Saints lost Sunday’s preseason game to the 49ers, 16-10.
“Things are coming together. They just take time,” Williams said.
Former BYU players in NFL
Hill and Williams weren’t the only former BYU stars at Sunday’s Saints-49ers game.
All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner was on the opposite sideline with San Francisco.
Warner didn’t play since the 49ers sat most of their starters.