Roderick On Jaren Hall Starting At QB: ‘Talent-Wise There’s Really No Dropoff’

PROVO, Utah – BYU needing to turn to their backup quarterback at some point is nothing to new over the last 10 years for the Cougars. Redshirt freshman Jaren Hall steps in for the injured Zach Wilson this Saturday against USF in Tampa.

Hall wasn’t the heralded recruit coming out of Maple Mountain High School in Spanish Fork, but there was one coach who saw a lot in Hall at a young age. That was Aaron Roderick.

Roderick, who is now BYU’s passing game coordinator, was at rival Utah when he extended a scholarship offer to Hall. Offers from others – including BYU – soon followed and Hall ended up with the Cougars.

#BYU QB Jaren Hall on why he chose the Cougars out of Maple Mountain High School. pic.twitter.com/4n6Kch4r69

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) October 7, 2019

The talent that Roderick saw when Hall was a recruit in Utah County, has grown since then. Roderick joined BYUtv’s BYU Football With Kalani Sitake on Tuesday for a film room session and gave glowing reviews of Hall.

“This will be Jaren’s first start so it’s expected that he might make a few mistakes. But talent-wise, there’s really no dropoff,” Roderick said. “He’s an excellent athlete, he’s a good thrower, he’s a smart guy, he’s a great competitor, so we have a lot of trust in him that he will play at a high level.”

BYU is about to tackle a tough three-game stretch with USF, nationally-ranked Boise State, and rival Utah State. Had the Cougars not built up their depth, there would have been a lot more worrying around BYU’s current quarterback situation. Instead, BYU’s coaching staff has a lot of confidence in Hall.

Jeff Grimes, Dustin Smith from @qbelite, and BYU baseball's Mike Littlewood all have good things to say about QB Jaren Hall. https://t.co/z9nLCqIUYh

— Mitch Harper KSL (@Mitch_Harper) October 4, 2019

“I’ve known him (Roderick) since high school early on and he was one of the first coaches to really instill confidence in me and my abilities as a quarterback. So now to be under his wing here and learn from him every day is a blessing. It’s been great,” Hall said.

Hall’s have also shared their fair share of high praise for BYU’s newest starting quarterback, the 10th since 2010.

“He’s quicker than Zach and Zach’s fast,” BYU defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga said. “It’s going to be fun watching him. We went up against him a lot during practice and during spring when Zach was out and we’re excited for him to play and execute plays.”

Now the challenge will be translating the excitement and confidence into results and Hall will have that opportunity on Saturday afternoon.

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