BYU was having a season in which everyone thought that they might have a shot at running the table. They had a Heisman candidate in QB Taysom Hill, who was leading the team in Rushing and Passing, as the unquestioned leader on the team. After beating Big 12’s Texas and ACC’s Virginia, everyone thought they could contend with all of the Big Time Programs.
All that changed on one play on Saturday…
By Matt Vahey
Taysom Hill was taken out during the game with a broken leg in the second quarter that required surgery early Sunday Morning. He is out for the rest of the season which is a huge blow to BYU.
With the loss of Taysom Hill, the life blood of the BYU football team, they will now need to search for what kind of football team they are going to be. Senior Quarterback Christian Stewart came in to replace Hill and his stat line was underwhelming throwing three interceptions while only completing a total of 10 passes. Stewart will be at the helm for the Cougars for the remainder of the season, and will need to lead this team from here on out. It will be crucial for the success of the team that he can correct the issues that were seen in his first action of the season. We will be monitoring his progression throughout the remainder of the season.
The defense, led by Senior Linebacker Alani Fua, will need to also step up for the rest of the season as it may take time for Christian Stewart to start feeling comfortable. Keeping teams off the scoreboard is going to be ever so important as the team is not going to be as explosive without Taysom Hill at QB.
Other Notes
Alex Fua, LB, #5
Alex Fua continues to showcase his talents and improves week in and week out and shows that he is the unquestioned defensive leader for the Cougars. He is all over the field at all times, continually flying to the football and proving to be decent in coverage as well. His strength is being a pure OLB and putting pressure on the QB, getting his third sack of the year. His stock will continue to rise if he can keep playing at a high level.
Jordan Leslie, WR, #9
Jordan Leslie is the number 1 target for the Cougars this year, continuing to lead them in receiving yards and gaining almost half of the total receiving yards against Utah State (135 on 4 receptions). He has been showing big play ability, and averages almost 16 yards a reception. He has slowly been silencing the critiques from his last year performance at UTEP where his production was significantly down from the two season prior. With a new QB in the mix, he will need to take it to the next level and prove to be a playmaker for this team as Taysum Hill will longer be the one providing these explosive plays.
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