Two former BYU Cougars quarterbacks are going to face off in Week 14, with New Orleans Saints starter Taysom Hill looking to send his one-time successor off with a loss. Zach Wilson hasn’t had a great rookie year with the New York Jets so far, but he’s got an opportunity to keep building some positive momentum as the season draws to a close.
How did these two passers compare in their college days? Hill, graded as a 3-star recruit upon returning from his LDS church mission, started 33 of the 37 games he played for the Cougars. He won 23 of them as a dual-threat quarterback with nearly as many touchdown runs (32) as scoring passes (43). His 2,815 rushing yards remain a school record by a quarterback.
But that physicality came at a price — a knee injury ended his 2012 season, with a broken leg sidelining him in 2014 and a Lisfranc fracture cutting his 2015 campaign short. He also threw 31 interceptions in his BYU career, which didn’t help his draft stock. The Green Bay Packers initially gave him a look coming out of college in 2017, but let him go. The Saints picked him up and the rest is history.
The interim period wasn’t great for the Cougars. Four different quarterbacks logged 20 or more pass attempts in the 2017 season, in which BYU went 4-9. Then another 3-star recruit, Wilson, arrived in 2018 and pushed for the starting job. He peaked in 2020 with an 11-1 record and 33 touchdown passes against only 3 interceptions. That catapulted him to the top of some draft boards and into New York.
Listed at an inch taller than Hill but 15 pounds lighter, Wilson ultimately started 28 of the 30 games he played in Provo and was much more of a pass-first quarterback. He averaged 255 passing yards per game against Hill’s 187.2 career average, finishing ninth in school history for career passing yards (7,652) and touchdowns (56), tossing just 15 interceptions in his Cougars career. That’s not to say he wasn’t an effective runner when called upon, having clocked a healthy 4.0 yards per carry with 15 touchdown runs, but that wasn’t anything close to Hill’s production on the ground.
Both quarterbacks feature vastly different play styles and that should be on display during Sunday’s matchup. Look for Wilson to try and threaten the Saints deep downfield and for Hill to run around, over, and through the Jets defense as often as they’ll let him (and occasionally when they’d really like to stop him instead). It should be a fun game despite the injuries each side has taken to the skills positions, and the winner should enjoy some “BYU Bowl” bragging rights for years to come.
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