Taysom Hill Announces Return to BYU for Fifth Season: Comments and Reaction

BYU quarterback Taysom Hill announced on Tuesday that he will return to the school for the 2016 season. 

He revealed his decision on his Twitter account:

According to the Salt Lake Tribune's Jay Drew, Hill's announcement ended "speculation that the talented dual-threat QB would take advantage of the NCAA's graduate-transfer rule and play instead at Michigan, Virginia, Stanford or another Division I program."

Hill has been plagued by injuries over his four years at BYU. In 2012 and 2014, his seasons were shortened by knee injuries. In 2015, he suffered a foot injury in the first game of the season against Nebraska and was done for the year. 

His injury opened the door for the Tanner Mangum story. The freshman quarterback became a miracle worker for the Cougars in the same game Hill went down against Nebraska.   

He did it again the following week against Boise State with a last-minute heave to give BYU the win. Mangum led the Cougars to a 9-4 regular season and a loss in the Las Vegas Bowl. 

BYUtv's Spencer Linton was quick to go to bat for Mangum after Hill's announcement:

Hill's return and Mangum's coming-out party last season are going to provide an interesting quarterback challenge at BYU. 

Hill (2012-2015)	Stat	Mangum (2015)
25	Games	13
17-8	Record	9-4
57.3	Completion Percentage	59.9
4,606	Passing Yards	3,377
31	Passing TD	23
20	Interceptions	10
2,212	Rushing Yards	-85
24	Rushing TD	2

With a new head coach in Kalani Sitake and a new offensive coordinator in Ty Detmer, it remains to be seen what kind of offense the Cougars will run. If they want to go the dual-threat option, then Hill will be their man. 

If they are more interested in a true dropback passer, then Mangum could get the nod. Either way, Hill's decision to return increases BYU's chances of putting together an 11th straight winning season, as it will create healthy competition within the roster. 

Stats courtesy of Sports-Reference.com.