Jaren Hall Shares Biggest Lesson He Learned From BYU Great Zach Wilson

SALT LAKE CITY – BYU quarterback Jaren Hall has been patiently waiting for this moment. The chance to be the opening week starter for a BYU program that he watched closely growing up in the home of a former Cougar great.

The road to becoming QB1 hasn’t always been smooth for Jaren, a native of Spanish Fork. Injuries and generational talent Zach Wilson in the quarterback room slowed down Hall’s reign as the starting signal-caller. But it gave him a valuable opportunity to learn the playbook, pick offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick’s brain, and study the work ethic of Wilson, who’s now a starting QB in the NFL.

Hall joined KSL Sports’ UnRivaled on KSL Newsradio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM) for the first of his weekly Monday appearances on the program throughout the 2021 football season. The redshirt sophomore QB was asked by host Alex Kirry what the biggest thing he learned from the New York Jets star was?

Jaren Hall on the lesson he learned from Zach Wilson

“I’d say to be the most prepared guy on the field. I think that was Zach in a nutshell, all year round,” Jaren Hall said to KSL Sports. “Whether it was the offseason, he’s watching film talking about games like we’re in the season. Or it’s in the middle of the fall during the season.”

Jaren Hall talked about one very important thing he learned while being Zach Wilson's teammate.#BYUfootball pic.twitter.com/QnXktq7uKF

— KSL Unrivaled (@KSLunrivaled) August 31, 2021

Wilson took the college football landscape by storm last season. Guiding BYU to their first 11-win season since 2009 and their highest final ranking in a quarter-century. Wilson finished eighth in the Heisman Trophy voting to cap off a season that saw him throw 33 touchdowns and only three interceptions. Throughout his time at BYU, coaches always praised Wilson’s approach to football, calling him a “film junkie” and saying, “he never gets off his iPad.”

“It was a crazy year coming into COVID, and not know what’s happening. But I’d say for him; he was the most prepared guy, you know, come that first game at Navy,” Hall said. “I’m sure his mindset all summer long was that we’re going to play and sure enough, when game one comes around, he shows out and he continued to do so the next 11 and 12 weeks.”

QB1 x @J_tom24 #BYU #BYUFootball #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/u9llaEN7p8

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) August 25, 2021

Now it’s Jaren Hall’s time to shine

Hall has garnered some buzz nationally as a potential breakout quarterback this season. During fall camp practices, Hall tossed the fewest amount of interceptions and made the most explosive plays. Guiding him to the QB1 job over talented backups Baylor Romney and Jacob Conover.

Hall’s dual-threat ability but pass-first mindset give him the chance to have immediate success in a BYU offense that appears to have depth at key skill position spots.

This off-season, Hall began working out with former BYU star John Beck at 3DQB in California, the same man that worked alongside Zach Wilson during his meteoric rise to the No. 2 overall pick. Now Hall looks to carve out his own path as the face of BYU’s offense.

“For me, watching [Zach] and his breakout year last year was just to be prepared and to always stay locked in. And that’s something Zach I feel like carried with him everywhere he went.”

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.