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BYU’s much-publicized three-way starting quarterback derby has a winner.
Jaren Hall, the 6-foot-1, 205-pound, red-shirted sophomore from Spanish Fork, will start as the Cougars quarterback when they face Arizona in the season opener on September 4 in Las Vegas, coach Kalani Sitake said on Wednesday in conjunction with the release of the depth map.
Hall earned the nod on Baylor Romney and Jacob Conover in a competition that began the day 2020 starter Zach Wilson announced he was entering the NFL Draft.
Hall, who missed the entire 2020 season with a hip injury, gained national attention when he became the first African-American to start a QB football game for BYU in October 2019 against the south Florida.
Hall replaces Wilson, who was the second pick in the NFL Draft last April by the New York Jets and is expected to be that team’s starter this season.
Hall told Deseret News in February that he was “laser-focused” to win the job, which is why he decided not to play baseball last spring and focus only on soccer. He played on the center field for the Cougars baseball team in 2019 and 2020.
In 2019, Hall completed 15 of 23 passes for 148 yards and one touchdown in a 27-23 loss to South Florida in his first start, but left the game early with injury.
Three weeks later, he made his second start against Utah State and performed spectacularly in the first half before suffering a concussion that ended his season. Against the Aggies that night at Logan, Hall completed 12 of 16 passes for 214 yards and also ran seven times for 54 yards and two touchdowns.
The son of former BYU runner Kalin Hall, Jaren Hall served a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Roseville, California.
Hall and his wife, former Utah Valley football star Breanna McCarter Hall, welcomed a baby girl into their family in July.
This story will be updated.
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