Taysom Hill

Taysom Shawn Hill (born August 23, 1990) is an American football utility player officially designated as a quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL).

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.

Hill was born and raised in Pocatello, Idaho, where he 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, Idaho Gatorade High School Player of the Year, First Team All-State selection, and 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 senior, he won the long jump event at the 2009 5A Regional Meet, with a mark of 6.85m.

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 out of high school, but after returning from his LDS church mission, he enrolled in January at BYU after learning Stanford did not allow incoming freshmen to join the team until June.

As a freshman in 2012, Hill was number two on the quarterback depth chart.

He was initially brought in for special packages to utilize his athleticism in short-yardage situations.

His first pass as a college player was an 18-yard touchdown against Washington State in the Cougars' season opener.

Hill played in 6 games in 2012, starting and winning two games near midseason before suffering a season-ending knee injury in the closing seconds of a victory over Utah State.

Hill was named the Cougars' full-time starter for the 2013 season.

After a tough 19–16 loss in the season opener at Virginia, he bounced back the following week against Texas, with 259 rushing yards and three touchdowns in a 40–21 win.

Hill also recorded 417 passing yards with 4 touchdowns and added 194 rushing yards in a 47-46 victory over Houston.

In 2014, Hill started the season well and led the team to a 4-0 record (including another lopsided win over Texas where he rushed for 134 yards and once again scored three touchdowns) before suffering a fractured leg against Utah State on October 3, which ended his season.

Injury again struck Hill at the start of the 2015 season, when he suffered a lisfranc fracture during the Cougars' 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.

As a result, Hill was granted a medical redshirt for 2015, making him eligible to return 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 2015.

On February 16, he announced that he would be returning to BYU in 2016 rather than pursuing options to play at another school as a graduate transfer.

For the 2016 season, Hill changed his jersey number from 4 to 7 to honor his late older brother, Dexter, who passed away in the spring of that year.

Late in 2016, Hill suffered a fourth season-ending injury.

In the Cougars' regular season finale against in-state rival Utah State on November 26, he left the game with a hyper-extended elbow in the fourth quarter and subsequently missed the Cougars' bowl game.

Hill showed impressive athletic ability at BYU's pro day.

He played college football at BYU and joined the Saints in 2017 as an undrafted free agent.

Hill was listed as a quarterback on the Saints depth chart during his first five seasons, though he took snaps at seven different positions.

Hill was designated as a tight end beginning in 2022 before once again being listed as a quarterback in 2023.

He has maintained similar roles on offense and special teams throughout his career, including as the Saints primary gunner.

Hill's array of utilization has earned him a reputation as a unique player in the NFL.

Due to his versatility, he is known as "The Human Swiss Army Knife" by Saints' media.

His 40-yard dash of 4.44 seconds and 38.5-inch (0.98m) 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-yard dash and 35.5 in vertical.

Hill went undrafted in the 2017 NFL Draft, but signed with the Green Bay Packers as a free agent on May 5.

He appeared in three preseason games with them, completing 14 of 20 passes, throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for another.

He was released during the Packers final roster cut-down on September 2, 2017.

The following day, 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 special teams tackles on the Panthers' kick returner Fozzy Whittaker.

Hill was listed as the third-string quarterback to start 2018 season, but was used in a variety of positions throughout the Saints' season, including as their primary kick returner.