Taysom Hill participates as Cougars begin spring practice


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PROVO — As day one of BYU spring practices began in Provo, the Cougars had a familiar face taking snaps at quarterback. Despite having surgery in October to repair a fractured leg and ligament strains, Taysom Hill participated with his teammates at the team’s indoor practice facility.

With depth at quarterback an issue heading into spring, head coach Bronco Mendenhall said he was pleased to see one of his senior leaders back at it.

“(It’s) really fun to see Taysom back outside throwing the ball well,” Mendenhall said. “He’s limited in terms of practicing full, but (it) just feels better having him out there.”

Quarterbacks coach Jason Beck said Hill is expected to participate in all spring drills, with the exception of team drills, such as scrimmages.

“He’s probably a little further along than they thought ... everything’s going great, just not to the point yet where we want to put him in a team situation.”

Hill was one of three quarterbacks to take snaps during Monday’s practice. McCoy Hill (no relation) and Hunter Moore are the only other quarterbacks on the spring roster.

For McCoy Hill, who completed just two passes in one game of action last season, this is an opportunity to show the coaches and his teammates what he brings to the table.

“I’m really excited,” Hill said. “It’s a big blessing; it felt really good to be out there today. I thought that for the most part we went out and executed for the first day of spring.”

While Taysom Hill is much more of a mobile quarterback, McCoy Hill believes his strength is throwing the football.

“I think I’m definitely more of a pocket-passer than Taysom," McCoy Hill said. “I think that I see the field pretty well with my height, and I feel comfortable playing the position.”

Taysom Hill isn’t the only starter on offense who is trying to get back to 100 percent for 2015. Running back Jamaal Williams continues to rehab his knee, an injury that cut his 2014 season short.

Williams is not expected to participate in spring ball but is optimistic he will be ready for the Cougars' opening game on Sept. 5 at Nebraska. While there isn’t an official timetable for his return, Williams feels pretty good about how things are progressing.

“I’ve got in my mindset when I should be 100 percent,” Williams said, “but don’t go off my word because I’ll say right now is the time to go 100 percent — right now I know I’m not, though.”

While BYU did not make any new hires to the coaching staff, there will be a change on the defense. Bronco Mendenhall will resume play-calling duties this season, a task he had been doing before 2014. Defensive coordinator Nick Howell will continue in that position, and, according to Mendenhall, Howell has been positive about the change.

“We have an unbelievable relationship; he’s one of my closest friends,” said Mendenhall. “He wants to win, I want to win, (and) we want the best for our players. What I know is I think this is what I’m supposed to be doing to help our team at this time, and he supports that. I couldn’t have asked for it to be any better.”

As for how the change will translate onto the field, senior defensive lineman Remington Peck believes the defense will be more focused on the little things.

“Attention to detail is a lot stronger,” Peck said. “It’s just more confidence; I mean, that guy is a defensive genius. We feel more confident with him there and he obviously felt the same way.”

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Despite BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe saying last week there would not be an official announcement regarding punishment and possible suspensions stemming from the fight at the Miami Beach Bowl, Mendenhall was asked if he would comment on the situation. While he did not give specifics, Mendenhall did give everyone an idea of just how many players could be involved.

“General number will be around 10ish, and I won’t really go into who specifically, and/or what they’ll get; probably game week is when most of that will happen. We’ll try and maintain a competitive advantage as long as we can and protect the kids as much as we can. I think everyone knows I thrive on accountability and don’t back away from it, especially at BYU. I’m comfortable with who we’re disciplining and how.”

While it was not specifically in relationship to the brawl in Miami, Mendenhall said one of the major themes he talked to his team about was discipline.

“I don’t think that I really prepared the team in a level that just challenged them to the point where they could be disciplined regardless of circumstance,” said Mendenhall. “I thought it was appropriate for our team right now … and I think it makes sense to them.”

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The Cougars will continue spring practices through Friday, April 3. The team will hold a scrimmage at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Friday, March 27, at 6 p.m. MT. The scrimmage is free and open to the public.

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You can listen to post-practice audio from Bronco Mendenhall, Jason Beck, McCoy Hill, Mitch Mathews, Remington Peck, Nick Kurtz and Jamaal Williams by clicking on the links in “Cougar Cuts,” above left.

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