BYU QB Jaren Hall Showed Flashes Of Brilliance In Win Over Arizona
Sep 5, 2021, 3:58 AM | Updated: 3:59 am
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - SEPTEMBER 04: Quarterback Jaren Hall #3 of the Brigham Young Cougars looks to his sideline before a play against the Arizona Wildcats during the Good Sam Vegas Kickoff Classic at Allegiant Stadium on September 4, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Cougars defeated the Wildcats 24-16. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, Nevada – Jaren Hall completed an entire game as a starting quarterback for the first time in his BYU career.
Hall led the BYU offense to a 24-16 win over Arizona from the opening offensive snap to the victory formation kneel down. The start wasn’t the first of Hall’s career; he had started two previous times back in 2019, the last time we saw him in action. But both of those starts, he exited early due to concussion protocols.
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On Saturday night, Hall, a redshirt sophomore, had his early struggles. But the good news for BYU is that he also showed flashes of his potential brilliance at the quarterback position.
“I thought he made some plays,” BYU head coach Kalani Sitake said. “He broke a long [run] when he scrambled. He created some space for himself with his legs in the backfield. I like the composure and the poise that he had. He’s a great leader for us.”
Earlier this week, Hall was named a captain, ended his first season-opening start 18-of-28 for 198 yards, and tossed two interceptions.
Kalani Sitake discusses Jaren Hall and the #BYU offense. #BYUFootball @kslsports pic.twitter.com/kI8CRaDgPC
— Matthew Baiamonte (@baiamontematt) September 5, 2021
The pass-first, dual-threat quarterback also ran for 36 yards on five carries. However, 39 yards were from one run in the second half that appeared to be his best Taysom Hill impression. That playmaking ability on the 39-yard run was a big reason Hall beat out Baylor Romney and Jacob Conover for the starting QB job.
Along with winning the game on Saturday, the most impressive stat from Hall might be the zero turnovers that BYU’s offense gave up. BYU went up against a bottom-half team in the Pac-12, but the Wildcats were a lot peskier than anyone expected.
Jaren Hall on his performance vs Arizona. #BYU #BYUvsAZ @kslsports pic.twitter.com/SJnERQ3hxZ
— Matthew Baiamonte (@baiamontematt) September 5, 2021
“I think it was just a clean football game overall from the offense. We executed well; we took the plays in front of us when they came—just kind of dinked and dunked a little bit. But, we’ll improve as we go each and every week. Today was just clean overall football and we took care of the football.”
After completing only two of his seven passes in the first quarter, Hall settled into the offense and then showcased his arm talent and accuracy, including a 67-yard touchdown throw to wide receiver Neil Pau’u. Hall ended the night, completing 64% of his passes. He completed 16 of his final 21 passes. A completion rate that probably made New York Jet Zach Wilson, who was on the sideline, pretty proud.
“We’re just gonna look forward to learning as much as we can from this game and finding ways to get better. That guy (Jaren Hall) knows how to play football and how to create space. His athleticism is something that’s really beneficial for our program. So I like the way he controls the offense.”
Saturday night didn’t go as smooth as many expected, but they left the Silver & Black “Death Star” with a win and some highlight moments from their QB1 that they can continue building on moving forward.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
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