News Story - Idaho State Journal

krobinett@journalnet.com

On the football field, he wins. In the classroom, he gets A's. In front of a microphone or television camera, he speaks more eloquently than adults twice his age.

Yes, Taysom Hill sure appears to be one of those lucky people who has everything.

Name a sport or an activity, and odds are he's gifted at it.

Before the senior Highland quarterback threw a single pass this year, he was already the most heavily recruited signal caller in the state and one of the top students in his class.

For those reasons, he had already verbally committed to play for Stanford.

More than any other athlete in southeast Idaho, the spotlight was on him.

And after throwing for more than 1,500 yards, rushing for more than 1,000 yards and leading the Rams to a 6 p.m. clash with Eagle today at Holt Arena for the 5A state championship this season, none of that has changed.

Even in the face of enormous expectations and a challenging course load, he has continued to excel.

When the season is over, he is a lock to win every all-conference and all-state award there is. Many believe he will even be named state player of the year.

Ask Hill about any of that, and he will change the subject or laugh off the question. Not surprisingly, the senior who has everything doesn't much care about postseason awards.

Push him, prod him, entice him. ... He only has one answer.

"All that matters," he said, "is that we win."

The team-first attitude Hill uses at all times is one of the main reasons Highland was able to finish the regular season with a 7-2 record and reach the state championship game this year.

Even though he is the focal point of the entire Rams roster and is on the field for practically every play -- he sees time at quarterback, safety, punter and kicker -- Highland has never turned into a one-man show.

After games, Hill goes out of his way to praise his defense, his offensive line, his wide receivers and his running backs.

Even when he turned in one of the best individual performances in state playoff history against Lake City two weeks ago by rushing for 270 yards, throwing for 147 and scoring six touchdowns, he refused to boast and credited his teammates.

"Taysom is not one to brag," Hill's father, Doug, said. "He's just a very humble kid who goes out and performs. He enjoys winning with his team, but I've never seen him gloat about anything. It's not about one guy with him. That's just how he is."

In return, his teammates treasure the chance to play with him.

"Taysom is a good football player, but he's also a good person," senior Highland lineman Jared Goody said. "He's got a lot of power and a lot of leadership. It really shows. It just feels like when he's on the field our entire team plays with such confidence. He changes the way we play. It's really interesting, the power he has on the football field."

Not all players with Hill's talents are able to bring a team together like that. In some cases, when one player puts up all the stats and receives all the publicity, some will become jealous and he can fracture a team.

That simply isn't the case with Hill.

On and off the field, he puts in just as much -- if not more -- work than everyone else on the team. More often than not, he's the one who leads the Rams onto the practice field and the last one to leave the field after games.

And in the classroom, his 4.2 GPA speaks for itself. While taking classes like honors anatomy, AP English, AP calculus, government and playing football, Hill has managed to contend for valedictorian.

"Going to Stanford," Hill said. "It's just something that's gotta be done."

Senior running back Jerry Castillo wouldn't let Hill get away with such modesty.

When asked to describe Hill in one word, senior Castillo immediately said "phenomenal."

"He's a great football player, he's a great guy academically and he's a great friend," Castillo said. "He's just a phenomenal man."

So phenomenal, that Highland coach Gino Mariani believes players look to Hill for leadership more often than they do to him.

In Mariani's mind, Hill is not his second-in-command or even a coach on the field. No, he is far more important than that.

By Kellis Robinett

This document was originally published online on Friday, November 21, 2008

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The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of our paper.

lovefootball wrote on Nov 21, 2008 9:44 AM:

" Great article! Thanks for emphasisizing the team effort and Taysom's academic side. He is a great kid! "

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