BYU football quarterback Taysom Hill changes number to honor brother
Brigham Young head coach Bronco Mendenhall pats quarterback Taysom Hill (4) on the head during the football game between the University of Texas Longhorns and the Brigham Young University Cougars at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2013. BYU won the game 40-21. SPENSER HEAPS/Daily Herald
FILE - In this Sept. 20, 2014, file photo, Brigham Young quarterback Taysom Hill (4) carries the ball in the second quarter during an NCAA college football game against Virginia, in Provo, Utah. There is no lack of confidence in BYU quarterback Hill. And there’s a sense of urgency mixed in from the senior who watched two of his three collegiate seasons end in serious injury. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
FILE - This Oct. 3, 2014, file photo, shows BYU quarterback Taysom Hill passing the ball in the first quarter during an NCAA college football game against Utah State, in Provo, Utah. There is no lack of confidence in BYU quarterback Hill. And there’s a sense of urgency mixed in from the senior who watched two of his three collegiate seasons end in serious injury. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
The number on the jersey means a lot to college football players. They are identified by their number for most of their career and thus often look to keep the same one — sometimes from as far back as their Pop Warner days.
But the No. 4 BYU senior quarterback Taysom Hill has worn for his entire time in Provo is being replaced for his final year.
And for a very good reason.
Hill announced at a Cougar Fanfest in Lehi on Thursday night that he will instead be wearing No. 7, to honor his older brother Dexter, who died earlier this year.
He also made it official on Twitter, tweeting from his @T_Hill4 Twitter account: “To commemorate the life of my brother Dexter, I am officially changing my number to 7 this year!! #BYUFOOTBALL #7.”
Hill missed the 2016 Blue-and-White game to be with the family after Dexter’s death.
Dexter was an accomplished quarterback, one who Taysom credited for helping him develop his skills.
“We spent a lot of time in the front yard,” Taysom told the Idaho State Journal in April. “I never had a quarterback coach other than him.”
Dexter played for Highland High School in Idaho before a college career that took him to Arizona’s Scottsdale Community College, the University of Northern Iowa and Dixie State University in St. George.
But his success on the field also resulted in the terrible consequences of prescription drug addiction for Dexter.
At Dexter’s funeral in April, his father Doug Hill said that Dexter played his final year at Scottsdale with two separated shoulders. He was prescribed opiates — including Oxycontin — to battle the pain, and in the end became addicted.
Taysom told the Idaho State Journal that “he’s spoken words of warning to his college teammates” and that he’s been very careful with painkillers after his three season-ending injuries.
“It’s up to you to monitor yourself,” Taysom told the Idaho State Journal. “If you don’t, you’re headed down a dangerous path.”
The decision to change his number to honor his brother indicates the level of love and respect Taysom had for Dexter — who he also credits for teaching him perseverance.
“That’s what I learned from Dex, his competitive nature,” Taysom told the Idaho State Journal. “Dex had to work for everything he had.”
BYU football quarterback Taysom Hill changes number to honor brother
Brigham Young head coach Bronco Mendenhall pats quarterback Taysom Hill (4) on the head during the football game between the University of Texas Longhorns and the Brigham Young University Cougars at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2013. BYU won the game 40-21. SPENSER HEAPS/Daily Herald
FILE - In this Sept. 20, 2014, file photo, Brigham Young quarterback Taysom Hill (4) carries the ball in the second quarter during an NCAA college football game against Virginia, in Provo, Utah. There is no lack of confidence in BYU quarterback Hill. And there’s a sense of urgency mixed in from the senior who watched two of his three collegiate seasons end in serious injury. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
FILE - This Oct. 3, 2014, file photo, shows BYU quarterback Taysom Hill passing the ball in the first quarter during an NCAA college football game against Utah State, in Provo, Utah. There is no lack of confidence in BYU quarterback Hill. And there’s a sense of urgency mixed in from the senior who watched two of his three collegiate seasons end in serious injury. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
The number on the jersey means a lot to college football players. They are identified by their number for most of their career and thus often look to keep the same one — sometimes from as far back as their Pop Warner days.
But the No. 4 BYU senior quarterback Taysom Hill has worn for his entire time in Provo is being replaced for his final year.
And for a very good reason.
Hill announced at a Cougar Fanfest in Lehi on Thursday night that he will instead be wearing No. 7, to honor his older brother Dexter, who died earlier this year.
He also made it official on Twitter, tweeting from his @T_Hill4 Twitter account: “To commemorate the life of my brother Dexter, I am officially changing my number to 7 this year!! #BYUFOOTBALL #7.”
Hill missed the 2016 Blue-and-White game to be with the family after Dexter’s death.
Dexter was an accomplished quarterback, one who Taysom credited for helping him develop his skills.
“We spent a lot of time in the front yard,” Taysom told the Idaho State Journal in April. “I never had a quarterback coach other than him.”
Dexter played for Highland High School in Idaho before a college career that took him to Arizona’s Scottsdale Community College, the University of Northern Iowa and Dixie State University in St. George.
But his success on the field also resulted in the terrible consequences of prescription drug addiction for Dexter.
At Dexter’s funeral in April, his father Doug Hill said that Dexter played his final year at Scottsdale with two separated shoulders. He was prescribed opiates — including Oxycontin — to battle the pain, and in the end became addicted.
Taysom told the Idaho State Journal that “he’s spoken words of warning to his college teammates” and that he’s been very careful with painkillers after his three season-ending injuries.
“It’s up to you to monitor yourself,” Taysom told the Idaho State Journal. “If you don’t, you’re headed down a dangerous path.”
The decision to change his number to honor his brother indicates the level of love and respect Taysom had for Dexter — who he also credits for teaching him perseverance.
“That’s what I learned from Dex, his competitive nature,” Taysom told the Idaho State Journal. “Dex had to work for everything he had.”
Read the entire Idaho State Journal tribute to Dexter Hill at idahostatejournal.com.