BYU QB Taysom Hill's Heisman stock rises after wins at UConn and Texas

I wrote a column several months ago detailing what would need to happen for Taysom Hill to make a serious run at the Heisman trophy. After two weeks of play, he is already generating some legitimate national attention. Here is what some sources are saying about the BYU QB.

Hill was ranked 9^th in a USA Today running watch list, but this list was only after BYU’s week 1 victory over UConn. He was unranked in their preseason poll, 5 total TDs will do that for someone.

Heismanpundit.com conducts a weekly straw poll from voters, and Taysom finished tied for 5^th place with four other players. The top four on that poll was Todd Gurley, Kenny Hill, Marcus Mariota, and Jameis Winston. This poll was also taken after Week 1 only.

Athlonsports.com placed Taysom Hill 2nd, right behind Marcus Mariota. This was updated after the victory in Austin. He was rated ahead of Everett Golson from Notre Dame and Bryce Petty from Baylor.

Taysom’s numbers have been tremendous so far and the Cougars have earned some good results through the first two weeks of the season. Those result have been enough for BYU to gain entry into the AP Top 25, which most BYU fans thought would only happen after the game against UCF. The Cougars must continue to win games (maybe 11, but probably 12 if he wants a serious chance at winning the Heisman). His touchdown stats so far have really helped his candidacy, but he will probably need more passing TDs to balance out his statistics as the season progresses.

One huge factor is that the Cougars have four more chances to play on ESPN and all of them are on Thursday or Friday evenings. This will give curious voters a chance to watch the Cougars without being distracted by a bunch of other games being played simultaneously. It starts this Thursday at home against Houston. Look for Hill to have another big game and for BYU to earn another big win to take Taysom’s Heisman run to the next level.