Taysom Hill wants to be Drew Brees when he grows up.
OK, Hill is already grown up: He’s 29 years old. But the Saints’ backup quarterback, who also moonlights as a runner, receiver and special teams player, wants to be a starting quarterback some day. And toward that end, he’s following every single thing the 40-year-old Brees does, on and off the field.
“I do what Drew does,” Hill said, via NOLA.com. “You could ask anybody here. I follow him around. I’ve adopted his schedule.”
Hill knows he’s on the old side to become a starting quarterback; most players, if they haven’t become a starter by the time they’re 29, aren’t going to. But seeing Brees keep doing it a decade older than Hill has been inspiring.
“To how he studies for a game. How he prepares for a game both mentally and physically, obviously there’s something there,” Hill said. “He’s been doing it for a long time and he’s got a lot more experience than I do and I’ve tried to take advantage of all of his experience and adopt that into my routine.”
Hill has become a valuable player on the Saints, even though he’s a backup. Whether he’s ever a starter or not remains to be seen, but it won’t be for lack of a good role model.