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Provo • Not many college football players get to start in four season openers. Even fewer get to play in five.
But that opportunity awaits BYU's 26-year-old Taysom Hill, who will line up under center — and in the shotgun and pistol formations, presumably — when the Cougars meet Arizona on Saturday night (8:30 p.m. MDT) at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.
"I'm fired up. I am ready to go," Hill said Monday after a practice in which he got all but a few of the repetitions in scrimmage sessions.
Hill's journey at BYU the past five years is well-documented: He has suffered three season-ending injuries, and hasn't finished a game since leading the Cougars to a 41-33 win over Virginia on Sept. 20, 2014.
He was injured in the second quarter of a game two weeks later against Utah State, then last year in the opener at Nebraska.
"I don't think about how long it has been since I have completed a game, or all that stuff," Hill said. "I am looking forward to being back out on the field with the team and being in a venue like we will be at in Arizona. I can't wait."
Hill, who has changed his jersey number from 4 to 7 to honor his late brother, Dexter, learned his third offense in five years to hold off strong-armed sophomore Tanner Mangum for the starting job. This one is Ty Detmer's pro-style offense, reminiscent of what Detmer himself ran at BYU when he won the Heisman Trophy in 1990.
Hill said this is the offense he dreamed about playing in while growing up.
"This is what it is, right?" he said. "You are dropping back, making reads, throwing the ball and … making checks at the line of scrimmage. So it is a very fun offense to be in. We have added some nuances to the offense that kind of fit my skill set, and will make us harder to defend."
Having become adept at Brandon Doman's multiple attack in 2012 as a freshman when he took over for an ailing Riley Nelson in a 7-6 loss at Boise State, only to be lost for the season with a knee injury two games later against Utah State, Hill returned in 2013 to give Robert Anae's "Go Hard, Go Fast" offense a try.
The opener that year didn't go so well — Hill was 13 of 40 for 175 yards in a 19-16 loss at Virginia — but he recovered nicely by rushing for 259 yards and three touchdowns a week later in a 40-21 stomping of No. 15 Texas and gradually mastered Anae's no-huddle, uptempo system.
That was evident against Nebraska in 2015. Hill sandwiched his Lisfranc foot injury with a 21-for-34 passing performance for 266 yards and a touchdown, even returning to the game after hurting his foot on a touchdown run. He also rushed for 72 yards and two TDs.
It will likely take a similar performance to knock off explosive Arizona, a slight favorite.
"A lot of what we did at UConn, what we did at Nebraska, was we had some key guys that had been in the program for a long time, been in the offense," Hill said. "We had been in game situations, so there really wasn't that learning curve. I still think there are a lot of unknowns this year. We certainly have some guys who have been in game situations and have a lot of experience, so that will help. But this is also the first time that we have ran this offense. Hopefully we pick up where we left off and continue to score points right from the get-go. But you just never know."
As a freshman just off a mission to Australia, Hill got into BYU's 2012 opener and threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Kaneakua Friel in a 30-6 romp over Washington State.
For what it is worth, Hill said it has been easier going from Anae's uptempo offense to Detmer's more deliberate, huddle-after-every-play style than it was going from Doman's system to Anae's.
"Guys are ready to go," he said. "I think we will execute at a high level. … By the end of the week we will be ready to go, for sure."
Detmer has acknowledged that Hill is not quite as accurate as Mangum, but brings a lot of other elements to the position that can't be coached.
"With Taysom in, we will have some wrinkles in and some opportunities for maybe some read-type of opportunities at certain points in the game," Detmer said. "But the offense, we are not changing anything for him. It has been great, because Taysom can do both, and Tanner can do both, and be equally as dangerous."
Hill's oldest brother, Jordan, played defensive tackle for Arizona's biggest rival, Arizona State, from 2003-06 and has shared some insights about the Wildcats, Taysom said.
"They are a good football team. I think they are a little smaller up front, but they are quick and agile. I think they do that on purpose, so they can get up the field and get after the QB," he said. "It will be a good challenge for us. I am excited and looking forward to it."
Twitter: @drewjay —
Taysom Hill in season openers
Opponent Year Comp/Att Yards TDs Rush att. Rush Yds Rush TDs
Nebraska 2015 21/34 268 1 9 72 2
Connecticut 2014 28/36 308 3 12 97 2
Virginia 2013 13/40 175 1 11 42 1
Washington State 2012 1/1 18 1 2 6 5 0
Note: Hill played in six games in 2012, 13 games in 2013, five games in 2014 and one game in 2015.