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| Taysom Hill |
Now, I am a proud University of Utah alumnus, so it may seem strange to some that I'm writing about my devotion to an ex-BYU quarterback, but I don't care one bit. The truth is, rivalry be damned, I really liked this guy when he was playing for the Cougars, largely because I appreciated the way he played the game (and, let's face it, he never seemed like the type of guy who'd come unglued and start screaming about how he hated everything about the U of U).
Even back then he had a certain charisma that was undeniable.
Taysom -- yes, I go first-name-only here like we're buddies, and that's such a fan thing to do -- is a big, strong guy who smiles, like, all the time. I mean whenever those TV cameras find him, he's always got a bit grin on his face, like he's having the time of his life; like he's milking every drop of joy out of the experience. There's a charm to that, which certainly explains a large part of Hill's appeal. That, along with, of course, some incredible athletic gifts, explains why he appears to be loved by his New Orleans Saints teammates and fans alike. I've noticed how, when he makes a play on the field, his teammates immediately rally to him, and how when he steps onto the field Saints fans go wild.
Once again, there's a charisma in play here. There's a likability that draws you in.
I realize I'm making some assumptions here, like I can read his mind or something. Back in my sports journalist days I always tried to remind myself that the athletes I covered were human beings, with faults and frailties like anyone else. I'd see these folks on the field or the court and it was easy to forget that I was only seeing one side of them. It was easy to get caught up in the hype. But in this case, all I can say is that on the few occasions I've covered his games, I've been impressed with what I heard in the interview room as much as what I saw on the field.
I suppose this would be a good place to stop and give a little athletic context to this story. I realize not everyone gets the nuances of the game, and that's okay. When it comes to writing about sports I've always believed in telling the story in a way that will, hopefully, resonate with all fans, regardless of what they know or don't know.
Taysom Hill wears No. 7 on his jersey. That means he's a quarterback, and I'm guessing that's the position he has played since he first wandered onto a football field. He played QB in high school and college and, technically speaking, he is listed as the Saints' third-string quarterback. But he is much, much more than that, which is why he is considered such a special player.
Hill is listed as a QB, put really, he's just a football player. Not that every guy on the roster isn't a "football player," but Hill is different because he is used in a variety of ways and at a variety of positions. Sometimes the Saints will use him as a QB and he'll take the snap from the center and either hand the ball to a running back or drop back to throw a pass. But more often than not the Saints will send him into the game to line up ... well, anywhere. Sometimes he's a running back, sometimes he's a receiver. The beauty of it is, because he's got that quarterback DNA, he's always capable of throwing a pass, just as he did in Sunday's playoff loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
Having watched a lot of football in my life, I have an appreciation for a player -- especially a quarterback -- who can, and will, block, tackle, catch, run and pass at any given moment in the game. At the little league level that's a big deal; at each advancing level of the game, it becomes an even bigger deal. In the NFL, it's something of a game-changer simply because it puts that much pressure on a defense that much account for him.
Having never coached football, I can only imagine what it must be like to have a jack-of-all-trades kind of a guy like Hill. As a kid I used to like drawing up football plays, usually during school classes when I was supposed to be focused on something else. I'd scribble Xs and Os on notebook paper, with lines indicating where the receivers and running backs were supposed to run, and where linemen were supposed to block. I'm quite certain I'm not the only guy who did that sort of thing. But if that's the extent of my play-designing career, I can say I have a deep appreciation for an "X" like Taysom Hill, who can pretty much go anywhere or do anything. The possibilities are virtually endless.
And think of him as a teammate ... what it must be like to have a guy on your team who can do so many things; who can literally (that word gets used so much I'm hesitant to use it, but in this case I think works) confound defenses. It must be fun to be Saints starting QB Drew Brees, knowing there's another quarterback on the field who can, if the right play is called, catch a pass and then turn around and actually throw a pass back to you. It also must be fun to know the defense is freaking out a little, unsure of what Hill's going to do when and if he gets the ball. I imagine it's sometimes hard to suppress a little smile when you walk up to the line, get under center, and look into the faces of the defenders who have absolutely no idea what's coming next.
Having established what Taysom Hill means to the Saints and their coaches, I guess the obvious question is, why doesn't everyone have a Taysom Hill on their roster? I can answer that question with a question.
Why isn't everyone a millionaire? Frankly, it just ain't that easy.
First of all, getting a Taysom Hill on your roster takes a little bit of luck. He wasn't drafted coming out BYU, and surely some of that had to do with how four of his five seasons there ended with injuries (knee, foot, leg and elbow). And having spent two years as a missionary for his church, he was already older than most guys coming out of college that year. He played in Green Bay for a while, but when the Packers released him, the Saints quickly signed him. Although Hill was available to every team in the league, the Saints and head coach Sean Payton get credit for seeing something bigger, for seeing Hill as a Swiss Army knife of sorts. It's certainly fair to say they saw something in Hill that other teams overlooked.
Of course there had to be more than just getting Hill on the roster, and even something beyond seeing him as an athlete who could play all over the field. In order to become what he is today, Hill had to have two specific things: 1. God-given athletic gifts; and 2. a desire to use them in whatever way the team needed him to use them. In one way or another, every guy on an NFL roster has God-given athleticism, and they all have a desire to use those gifts on the field. But what separates Hill from the others is the second part, that he's willing to use them in whatever way he's asked.
Let's face it, playing quarterback is a pretty big deal. It's the most important position in all of sports, certainly the most glamorous. I've never been a quarterback -- go figure, right? -- so I can only imagine all that comes with it. There's the on-the-field stuff ... the responsibility of leading men; of knowing where everyone is supposed to go on each play; the pressure to make all the right decisions. And there's also the off-the-field stuff, too ... of walking down the hall at school, knowing pretty much everyone else knows who you are; of being the face of the team; of being the man. I don't care if you live for the spotlight or if you're an introvert who truly longs for the shadows, on some level there has to be something downright intoxicating about being a QB. I mean, kids don't go out in the backyard and pretend to be linemen, do they?
So imagine you're Taysom Hill and you're a quarterback, and have been for nearly all your life. You work hard, overcome all those college injuries and all of a sudden you're in the N.F. -- freakin' -- L. Your coaches come to you and tell you they love your athleticism, and that they're glad you're on the roster, but ... we need you to be on the punt team ... and the kicking team ... and to line up as a running back or a receiver.
Me? Well, I've never been a quarterback and certainly never played in the NFL. It's easy for me to think, "If I got to be on an NFL team, I'd play whatever position they asked me to. I'd do everything the coaches said." But I'm sure it's not as easy as that. My guess is, it probably wasn't as easy as that when they asked Hill to start playing other positions. I imagine somewhere in his mind he thought to himself, "I'm a quarterback. That's my position. I'm not a running back or a receiver or a tight end, and I'm definitely not a special teams guy."
The bottom line, however, is that Hill was willing to make whatever mental sacrifices he needed to make in order to become the guy he is now. Clearly, he's a "team first" kind of guy, which means he sees beyond himself. That may seem like a pretty simple concept, but I can tell you, as a former sports journalist who has covered numerous college and professional teams, that's actually a rare thing.
Those who follow the NFL closely have certainly heard it referred to as a "copycat league," and it is. Because the Saints have been successful using Hill the way they have, other teams are sure to follow suit. They're out there right now, looking for the next Taysom Hill. And he is out there, somewhere. But the thing is, it'll take a lot more than just athleticism and the ability to play multiple positions on the field to be the next Taysom Hill. Oh it'll take a whole lot of God-given talent, no doubt about it. But beyond that, it'll take the right mentality, and in many ways that's rarer than any physical gift.
Here's what I know for sure: If I were a young athlete out there, with a love of football and the skill to play quarterback, I'd hone those skills every day, and in every way. And in addition -- as corny as it may seem -- I'd spent time practicing my mental skills, my focus and my ability to embrace something bigger than what's in front of me. I'd work to wrap my head around the idea of playing and working for someone else beside myself.
Come to think of it, that's good advice for anyone, football player or an average person like you or me.
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