Taysom Hill Ran For Most Yards, Threw TD Pass In Saints Preseason Opener
Aug 10, 2019, 12:29 AM | Updated: 12:30 am
Taysom Hill #7 of the New Orleans Saints breaks a tackle from Adarius Taylor #53 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the fourth quarter at Raymond James Stadium on December 09, 2018 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
(Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, La. – Former BYU quarterback Taysom Hill took over in the second half of the New Orleans Saints preseason opener on Friday. Hill has started to grow a cult following in the Big Easy and the former BYU start began doing what Taysom knows best, run.
Hill checked into the game on the first Saints offensive series of the third quarter. What was surprising was that Taysom, a swiss army knife for the Sean Payton’s Saints squad, was playing quarterback for all of his snaps. Saints backup Teddy Bridgewater handled the first half worth of quarterbacking duties, Drew Brees didn’t play.
It's officially "Taysom Time" in the Superdome. Hill with a big run for the first down. #Saints #BYU @FOX8NOLA pic.twitter.com/TPjQP73sgg
— Garland Gillen (@garlandgillen) August 10, 2019
Hill’s first series in the game ended in a pick-six on 2nd & 23 but he bounced back the following drive to help lead the Saints offense into field goal range. Taysom picked up 25 of the 68 yards on that scoring drive with his legs while scrambling.
Fast forward to the fourth quarter, Hill has now picked up 36 total yards rushing on the game, and he starts to go through the air. Hill connected on three of his five passing attempts on the drive highlighted by a 33-yard touchdown pass to Saints rookie wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey with 8:44 left in the fourth quarter.
Lil’Jordan Humphrey takes it in for 6️⃣!
Taysom Hill with the strike.#MINvsNO
— PFF (@PFF) August 10, 2019
Taysom ended up eight-of-14 for 80 yards passing and a 67.6 quarterback rating. Hill finished the night as the Saints leading rusher with 45 rushing yards on six carries, which was good for an average of 7.5 yards per carry. Hill, who’s vying to be the Saints No. 2 quarterback behind Brees, ended up averaging more yards per carry than he did yards per pass attempt. His yards per pass attempt ended up at only 5.7 yards.
The Saints lost to the Vikings 34-25. Next up for Taysom and the Saints is Sunday, August 18th against the Los Angeles Chargers at 2 p.m. (MDT).
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
