BYU quarterback Taysom Hill has been brilliant when healthy and frustratingly unlucky when it comes to injuries during his career as a Cougars' quarterback. His 2012 (freshman), 2014 (junior) and 2015 (medical redshirt) campaigns were all cut short by lower body injuries, but when healthy, like in 2013, he's one of the most dangerous dual-threat quarterbacks in the country.
Hill plans to make his return to the field for one more year in Provo, this time recovering from a Lisfranc injury in his foot. BYU held their annual preseason media day this past week, and one of the interesting stories from the reporters on site was an update on Hill's recovery.
The good news is that Hill says he's on his way back to full health. It turns out, Nike (who supplies all of BYU's apparel) is helping the 25-year old quarterback out with the process.
"I have custom-made shoe inserts since surgery and I'll wear those in the offseason, also Nike is building a shoe that gives me more support through the arch and I'll include my orthotics as an insole on top of that," Hill said, via the Deseret News.
"The ones I have already now have been molding to my foot specifically. Nike is building an additional support in my arch as well. I'm part of Nike's research and development and I'm sort of the guinea pig to be a part of it. We are literally exhausting every avenue to recover and to stay healthy and make sure my foot doesn't make limitations."
Hill plans to start this fall, but he'll have to battle against another former high school standout in Tanner Mangum. Mangum set a ton of freshman passing records during 2015 in Hill's absence and went on to become the school's first 3,000-yard passer since 2009 (Max Hall). For first-year BYU coach Kilani Sitake, it's the quarterback battle, not the shoes, that are the primary concern heading into fall.
