Saints scripting Taysom Hill’s practice time more in line with his uniquely dynamic role

By BRETT MARTEL
AP Sports Writer

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — When Taysom Hill leaves home for Saints headquarters, New Orleans’ most protean player doesn’t always know which position he’ll be asked to focus on during practice.

During minicamp this week, he’s been working regularly at quarterback, even though he remains listed as a tight end and also has a significant role on special teams.

“I show up and just try to be ready for whatever it is,” Hill said Thursday after the final practice of mandatory minicamp. “I usually find out that morning. At least, I have the last couple days, which is fine.”

In six years with the Saints, the former BYU quarterback has proved he can play virtually any skill position on offense, block or cover punts and even return kickoffs. But now, Hill, who turns 33 this summer, senses a turning point in his career.

Last season was Hill’s first in which he no longer was listed as a quarterback and no longer spent the bulk of his practice or meeting time focused on that position. Yet, even though he was a tight end, his biggest impact in games often came on change-of-pace QB runs.

His 575 yards and seven touchdowns rushing last season dwarfed his receiving numbers of nine catches for 77 yards and two TDs as a tight end. Hill also threw 19 passes, completing 13 for 240 yards and two touchdowns.

This offseason was the first since his position switch “that we’ve been able to go back and we’ve looked at 17 games,” Hill said.

“We’re trying to find this happy medium and happy balance of like, hey, let’s be realistic with what we’re going to ask you to do this season and make sure that you’re getting the time, the reps, on those things,” Hill added.

Saints running back Jamaal Williams, a free-agent pickup this offseason who also was Hill’s BYU teammate, said he wasn’t surprised to see the 6-foot-2, 221-pound Hill thrive on quarterback runs.

Williams said Hill can run like a “power back,” but added, “give him that open lane and let him open up and run, he starts moving like a big buff gazelle.”

Still, Hill also hopes to further explore his potential as a receiving tight end.

“The throwing stuff as a quarterback, or running, that’s stuff we’ve been doing for a long time and is natural for me,” Hill said. “Running routes and catching balls, that was a foreign thing for me and because of that, we haven’t done a ton of it.

“There’s opportunities there that we haven’t explored yet,” Hill continued. “The hope and the expectation is that expands a little.”

Hill said he expects that he can overcome his relative lack of experience in the receiving game by drawing on his QB experience.

“I’m just going to do what I’d want the receiver to do if I was throwing to him,” Hill said. “So having that perspective has also helped.

“I’m certainly hopeful I still get my carries and there’s opportunities that way, but whatever it is, I’m happy to do it,” Hill said. “I never felt like they were asking me to do too much. I’ve been in the system for six years and so I think mentally that helps me a lot. I feel really comfortable and confident in running and operating inside this scheme, which alleviates a lot of that stress.”

Likewise, Saints coach Dennis Allen doesn’t sound inclined to strictly limit the ways Hill might contribute.

“He’s a weapon offensively for us that can do a lot of different things,” Allen said. “So, our thought is to get him involved in a lot of different areas.”

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