On Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings beat the New Orleans Saints in a wild card playoff game on a disturbingly familiar official’s decision. But the Saints’ controversial loss hides a remarkable performance from New Orleans’ backup quarterback Taysom Hill.

Actually, that’s not entirely accurate. Hill is the Saints’ backup quarterback/running back/wide receiver/kick coverage specialist. While Hill may be the heir apparent to Drew Brees, Saints head coach Sean Payton has been very creative in finding ways to use Hill’s talents even with Brees under center.

Against the Vikings, here’s Hill’s stats. There’s … a lot going on.

Passing	1/1, 50 yards, TD
Rushing	4 carries, 50 yards (led team in rushing)
Receiving	2 catches, 3 targets, 25 yards, TD
Defensive	1 tackle

Watching this game, it’s hard not to let your mind wander a little bit and wonder if Scott Frost is watching too. Because Luke McCaffrey bears a lot of resemblance to Hill, and not just because they both wear number 7.

Hill is six-foot-two and 220 pounds. McCaffrey is six-foot-two and 200 pounds. Hill put up a 4.44 40-yard-dash time at the NFL combine. McCaffrey has put up a 4.5 40-yard-dash. Hill was a dual-threat weapon at quarterback in college. McCaffrey is a dual-threat weapon that provided Nebraska quite a spark in his limited appearances under center.

Now, Nebraska looks to have a spirited competition at quarterback for 2020. Adrian Martinez, as a two-year starter, should have an inside track, especially coming off an injured sophomore campaign. McCaffrey sparkled in his times both under center and on the field last season. And freshman Logan Smothers bears so many resemblances to a younger Martinez in terms of size, speed, and athletic ability.

There’s no question that McCaffrey could beat Martinez out and be Nebraska’s starting quarterback next season, especially if Martinez doesn’t recover fully from his injuries. McCaffrey only played four games last year, so he still has four years of eligibility to use, and Martinez will be a junior next year.

But if Martinez (or, heck, Smothers) wins the job, there’s an opportunity for McCaffrey to take on a Hill-like role for Nebraska’s offense. We saw it last year, in a limited role. McCaffrey had 24 carries for 166 yards and a touchdown, and one catch for 12 yards, in addition to going 9-12 for 142 yards and two touchdowns as a quarterback.

According to Bob Hamar of the Grand Island Independent, Frost is well aware of McCaffrey’s versatile skills.

“He’s a really good football player,” Frost said of McCaffrey. “He can run, he can throw, he can catch, he loves it, so he’s going to be a really good player for us around here for a long time and we thought it was smart to get a guy like that on the field.”

Frost wanted to make it clear that McCaffrey’s future is at quarterback, but he can provide some help at receiver going into Friday’s game against Iowa.

Frost said quarterbacks coach Mario Verduzco makes sure all his quarterbacks know the assignments of all the offensive players on every play. That makes it possible for a player like McCaffrey to slide into another position.

“Luke is an extremely versatile guy,” Frost said. “You can just see the raw athleticism that he’s got. He’s going to be a hell of a ball player for us in the future. I just look forward to however we use him, whether that is how we did last week or if that’s at quarterback, wherever he’s needed. But he’s a hell of a ball player and I can’t wait to see him in the future.”

Of course, Frost’s focus was on McCaffrey staying at quarterback. There was at least a good argument that McCaffrey was more effective in his time at quarterback than Martinez was. And especially with a third talented quarterback entering the room (and that’s not even talking about Noah Vedral), Frost has to know he runs the risk of losing someone to the transfer portal.

But if Martinez does win the job, and McCaffrey still sees himself as Nebraska’s future starting quarterback – much like Hill is waiting for his shot after Brees retires – then Frost would have an opportunity to get creative with McCaffrey’s skills.

Nebraska’s got a lot of new talent at skill positions coming in. But there’s precious little in terms of returning production, outside of JD Spielman and Wan’Dale Robinson. If Martinez does win the job, then Frost will have an entire offseason to devise clever ways to use McCaffrey’s talents.

It doesn’t have to be a main feature of Nebraska’s offense. Hopefully some of Nebraska’s incoming talent (especially junior college transfer Omar Manning) will provide some day-one assistance.

But anyone who has watched the Saints this season knows that Hill’s role in the offense has grown and he’s become a legitimate weapon for New Orleans. If the Saints would have won the game, Peyton’s use of Hill would have been one of the primary reasons cited for the victory.

So maybe Frost can steal a page or two from Peyton’s playbook and find more ways to get an explosive and dangerous playmaker like McCaffrey on the field more in 2020.

GBR, baby.