Family history and a shared faith brought together two football players from rival teams. Taysom Hill, who played quarterback for Brigham Young University, and Britain Covey, wide receiver at the University of Utah, shared memories and personal experiences during RootsTech 2016 Family Discovery Day at the Salt Palace Covention Center on Saturday, Feb. 6.
Both Hill and Covey, who are members of the Church, answered questions regarding opportunities to share their faith with teammates.
Hill said that a teammate recently approached him wanting to know why he always seemed happy. “That really opened it for me to share the gospel,” Hill said. “It brought me back to my mission, to see the light of the gospel touch this young man’s life and to see the happiness that I was feeling and that he saw. It was a great experience.”
The session also highlighted Covey’s recent acceptance to serve a mission in Chile and Hill’s marriage to Emily Nixon in the Salt Lake Temple.
Covey said many people ask him about his decision to take a two-year hiatus from football to serve a mission. “Scoring a touchdown is awesome, but it is a different type of happiness than this gospel brings. That’s what I am excited to share,” Covey said.
Rob Boshard, known as “Rockin’ Rob” on local radio station Oldies 94.1, acted as emcee to the special session of the family history conference that was geared toward youth and families.
When the emcee asked the college athletes about their hero or someone who has been influential in their football career, both young men noted the example of their fathers.
“There’s something about a father-son relationship that’s special,” Covey said. “Not only as a kid was he a role model, but he also set an example of what a father should be. The way that he treats my mom is the way I want to treat my wife. He’s taught me what’s most important.”
There’s no better example, Covey said, than that morning when his dad stopped him as he was going out the door so they could have family prayer.
Hill expressed similar sentiments. “I’ve always looked up to my father. He certainly taught me a lot of things in family home evenings and scripture study and in church, but the thing that spoke loudest to me was his example.”
Wearing their team jerseys, Hill and Covey launched the event — and acknowledged their teams’ rivalry — with a short competition involving a teddy bear, a tricycle, a wheelchair, a “selfie” and a couple of youth volunteers from the audience.
When Boshard pointed out that the U. of U. player’s dad is a “diehard BYU fan,” Covey responded, “Honestly, I don’t see why you can’t like both. That’s kind of the motto in my family.”
