Taysom Hill: From the Longhorn Leap to the Lambeau Leap

In case you weren’t on Twitter Thursday night, Taysom Hill scored a touchdown. In the NFL. For the Green Bay Packers. (In the preseason.) But still -- everyone got pretty excited and emotional about it, because, well, how could you not? Five college football seasons, with four season ending injuries, fans calling for his starting spot his last year.... Needless to say, Hill’s path to the NFL hasn’t been an easy one. But all that was seemingly forgotten when Hill put on a late fourth quarter show against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Hill entered the preseason game with about six minutes to go, but made sure to leave his mark with a pretty impressive TD drive, including a 46-yard completion to DeAngelo Yancey.

The TD pass itself (which put the Packers up 24-9) was a nine-yard, back shoulder throw to Michael Clark. It was beautiful. You’re going to want to watch the video embedded below. The highlights include but aren’t limited to: The TD pass itself, Aaron Rodgers’ celebration, and Taysom Hill’s very first (and hopefully far from last) Lambeau Leap.

Hill was only in the game for a short time, but managed to lead the team in rushing yards. Well, one person tied him at 14 yards — Jamaal Williams. How about that? Two out of three BYU Packers led the team rushing. Colby Pearson had to sit this first preseason game out after suffering what is hopefully a minor injury. Hill had 14 rushing yards on two carries, averaging an impressive 7 yards per carry -- though most of them came on a nice 12-yard run during his TD drive. Williams tallied his 14 yards over four carries, averaging 3.5 yards, with his longest rush being for 5.

Okay, I’ll stop gushing about Taysom Hill in just a second, BUT he ended the night with a PERFECT Quarterback Rating (of 158.3). He was 4/5 passing, for 69 yards (nice). We’ve already been over his rushing stats.

Is Hill still the Packers third string guy? Yes. Should you take this all with a grain of salt, because it’s the preseason, and Hill only played for a few drives? Yes. But could Hill have done much more to prove that he can not only fit in with, but be an asset to the Packers? No!

As for other former Cougars in the NFL, Bronson Kaufusi racked up his first [preseason] NFL sack for the Baltimore Ravens. Harvey Langi had four tackles for the Patriots, with one solo tackle. For the Browns, Jordan Leslie had two receptions for nine yards, and Kai Nacua had two tackles. Refer to this spreadsheet from Zak Hicken for more:

Time will tell if these former Cougs will make their respective final rosters, but for now, it’s fun to see them getting their shot at the next level. Preseason games will continue throughout the weekend and through the end of the month, with the first NFL game coming on Thurs. Sept. 7 featuring the Chiefs (Daniel Sorensen) and the Patriots (Harvey Langi and Kyle Van Noy).

*The chart above does not reflect the recent addition of former BYU Fullback Algie Brown to the New York Jets.