This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
No matter how awkward this becomes, quarterback Taysom Hill deserved to choose where he wanted to play another season of college football and BYU's coaching staff made the right call in encouraging him to stay in Provo, as Hill announced Tuesday that he intends to do.
In saying that, I'm not quite eating my words from November. I wrote that Hill's transferring to another school (namely the University of Michigan, by my birthplace-driven preference) would be my hope for him. Tanner Mangum has done enough to establish to himself as the leader of BYU's offense, and any job-sharing arrangement could restrict Mangum's development in his sophomore season.
Yet the underlying theme of my commentary was that I wanted Hill to play somewhere, for somebody. If that's BYU, fine. He's as fun to watch as any player I've ever covered in any sport, and I would have felt cheated if he had stopped pursuing football at this stage. Having his career end last September at Nebraska would have been unsatisfying.
So having him come back is a good thing, but this is going to get interesting — and potentially messy. The ideal solution in my mind would be for offensive coordinator Ty Detmer to design a package of plays to exploit Hill's running ability, with the added dimension of him as a passing threat.
As Detmer has said in discussing how he much he wanted Hill to come back, competition is a good thing. And the essence of coaching is tailoring the system to the players, not the other way around. Yet I strongly believe Detmer needs to design his offense around Mangum's pocket-passing talent in the long-term interest of the program. If Hill proves that he can outplay Mangum in such a system, great. I don't picture that happening, though.
Scott Criner, Mangum's offensive coordinator at Eagle High School in suburban Boise, Idaho, once made a prediction to BYU's former offensive staff. Criner told the coaches last summer that if, for any reason, Mangum gets into a game as a freshman, "Taysom Hill will be done," because Mangum is so good.
Hill's season-ending foot injury made that point moot — as of 2015, anyway. Criner is understandably biased, but he speaks from the perspective of a college coaching background. He's convinced Mangum is an elite talent and is on his way to becoming one of BYU's all-time best quarterbacks. That's assuming he remains the starter for three more years.
In December, Mangum said, "Whatever Taysom decides, I'll be happy for him."
Logically, Mangum will be mildly shaken by Hill's decision. Mangum turns 23 in September. His football clock is ticking, and any threat to the idea of him taking every meaningful snap for BYU should be a little unnerving to him.
Just the same, the publicly humble Mangum is very confident in his ability — "He knows he's got a gift," said Eagle coach Paul Peterson — and he's team-oriented enough to recognize the value of having Hill in the program, facing BYU's 2016 schedule. Mangum stayed healthy last season, but not he's not indestructible, having broken his collarbone as a high school junior.
Mangum recovered well, just as Hill already has done twice, from major knee and ankle injuries. Hill's latest comeback certainly will create an interesting dynamic in coach Kalani Sitake's first year. If it all goes according to my script, Mangum will be the starting quarterback all season and maintain his trajectory as a potentially great QB, and Hill will complement him as situational player.
Somehow, though, I doubt it will play out that smoothly.
Twitter: @tribkurt