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Provo • The season-ending injury that BYU quarterback Taysom Hill sustained in the second quarter of Friday's 35-20 loss to Utah State is worse than originally feared, coach Bronco Mendenhall said in his weekly press briefing Monday.
Doctors originally diagnosed a fractured left leg and said the junior who was a fringe Heisman Trophy candidate would be out 4-6 months. During Saturday morning's surgery, they found more extensive damage.
"I don't know the exactness of it, other than it was two hours worth of surgery, one plate, eight screws, every major ligament shredded. So [it is] significant. I am not even sure [how extensive]. I don't have any of the exact procedural details, other than they knew it was bad, but when they got in, it was worse," Mendenhall said.
He offered no new timetable for Hill's return, but suddenly the quarterback's availability for the 2015 season is in question. The Cougars open the season at Nebraska, then host Boise State before traveling to UCLA and Michigan.
The senior who will start in Hill's place for the Cougars (4-1) against Central Florida (2-2) on Thursday night in Orlando (5:30 p.m., MDT, ESPN), former walk-on Christian Stewart, said he visited Hill on Sunday and that the injured star seemed to be in good spirits.
"Taysom is a very resilient person and I know that he will be back in no time," Stewart said. "He will be there coaching me and will be on the sideline being the support that I can use."
Ironically, the injury came after a routine tackle by USU's Brian Suite (who was also the tackler when Hill suffered a major left knee injury midway through his freshman season in 2012). Earlier in the game, Hill made a much riskier play, leaping over a pair of USU defenders and into the end zone to give the Cougars an early lead.
Mendenhall expressed confidence in Stewart's ability Monday, but acknowledged that Hill cannot be easily replaced.
"No matter what the situation Taysom was in, he could pull it down and make two guys miss and do a hurdle or whatever," Mendenhall said. "He will scramble his way to a first down, get his head down and get us a first down. So there was always just a confidence that we will never be out of a game."
Now the focus shifts to whether Stewart can lead BYU to wins, especially on the road.
"You never want to start at someone else's expense, or because they went down to a season-ending injury," Stewart said. "But for me, this is my dream. I grew up going to BYU football games with my dad. I have always wanted to be a starting quarterback here. It is a dream come true, and now I am ready to take the helm and lead this team to victories."
Mendenhall said Stewart will play better after getting a good taste of Division I college football against the Aggies.
"He knows the offense well. He looked confident, and like many quarterbacks in that situation, he pressed. He tried to do a little bit too much. But I actually took it as a positive thing, because he was aggressive," Mendenhall said.
Regarding the other injuries the Cougars suffered Friday, Mendenhall said the setbacks suffered by linebacker Alani Fua, offensive lineman Brayden Kearsley and safety Dallin Leavitt are all "high-ankle sprains" and said he doesn't know if the players are "probable, hopeful or doubtful."
Later, a BYU spokesperson said Kearsley's injury is by far the worst of the three. Linebacker Mike Alisa took a blow to the head early in the game and did not return. He is still being evaluated.
Twitter: @drewjay —
BYU at Central Florida
P Thursday, 5:30 p.m.
TV: ESPN —
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