Kenny Hill (quarterback)

Kenny Hill

Hill at 2017 Big 12 Media Days
Incarnate Word Cardinals
Position:	Associate head coach & running backs coach
Personal information
Born:	(1994-12-20) December 20, 1994 (age 29) West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:	205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school:	Southlake Carroll (Southlake, Texas)
College:	Texas A&M (2013–2014) TCU (2015–2017)
Undrafted:	2018
Career history
As a player:
Oakland Raiders (2018)* Montreal Alouettes (2018)*
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
As a coach:
TCU (2018) Student assistant TCU (2019) Graduate assistant TCU (2020) Offensive analyst TCU (2021) Quarterbacks coach California (2022) Offensive quality control coach Incarnate Word (2023–present) Associate head coach & running backs coach
Career highlights and awards
2012 Star-Telegram Super Team Offensive Player of the Year [1] 2012 Gatorade Texas Player of Year [2] 2012 Texas Associated Press Class 5A Offensive Player of the Year [3] 2012 Texas Associated Press Class 5A First Team All-State [4] 2016 Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year [5]

Kenneth Wade Hill Jr. (born December 20, 1994) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is currently the associate head coach and running backs coach at Incarnate Word. He previously played for the Texas A&M Aggies and TCU Horned Frogs. In his first start with the Aggies, he broke Johnny Manziel's school single-game passing yards record with 511 yards.

Early life

Hill attended Carroll High School, in Southlake, Texas, where he played for the football team. As a senior, he was the Texas Gatorade Football Player of the Year after passing for 2,291 yards with 20 touchdowns with 102 carries for 905 yards and rushing for 22 touchdowns. ^{[6] [7]} Hill also led Southlake Carroll to a 5A State Championship in 2011 where he completed 243 of 286 passes for 3,014 yards and 25 touchdowns with 9 interceptions; rushed for 280 carries, gaining 1,400 yards and 24 touchdowns. ^[8]

Hill was highly recruited out of high school; in addition to Texas A&M, he received offers from Baylor, Houston, Kansas State, Missouri, North Carolina, Ole Miss, Southern Miss, TCU, Texas Tech, and Utah. ^[9]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Kenny Hill QB	Southlake, Texas	Southlake Carroll (Southlake, TX)	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Apr 29, 2012
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:     Rivals:     247Sports: N/A   ESPN grade: 78
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 16 (QB)   Rivals: 4 (QB)   ESPN: 21 (DT-QB)
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Texas A&M Football Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 29, 2014. "2013 Texas A & M College Football Recruiting Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved August 29, 2014. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 29, 2014. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved August 29, 2014. "2013 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 29, 2014.

College career

Texas A&M

See also: 2013 Texas A&M Aggies football team and 2014 Texas A&M Aggies football team

As a true freshman in 2013, Hill was a backup to starter Johnny Manziel. He appeared in four games, passing for 183 yards and a touchdown.

After Manziel was drafted, Hill was named the Aggies starting quarterback for the 2014 season on August 16, 2014. ^{[10] [11]} In his first start against #9 South Carolina, Hill broke Manziel's passing yards record with 511 yards and four touchdowns. With a 52–28 win, the #21 Texas A&M broke South Carolina's 18-game streak of home victories. During that same game, he broke Ryan Tannehill's record of most passing yards in first career start and Jerrod Johnson's record of most completions in a game, with the record now at 44 completions. It was also the second-most completions and fifth-most passing yards in a game in SEC history. On September 6, 2014, in his second game as a starter, Hill had another stellar performance against the FCS school, Lamar University, completing 17 of 26 passes for 283 yards and four touchdowns in a blowout 73–3 win. ^[12] He continued playing well in his next two games against Rice and SMU, with respective completion percentages of 64.5 and 72.7. ^[13]

However, when the Aggies reached mid-season and began playing tougher opponents, Hill's performance dropped notably. On September 27 he threw 41 passes against Arkansas, only 21 of which were completed, giving him a completion percentage of 51.2-- his worst as a college football starter as of August 2017. In the following three games against ranked Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Alabama, Hill averaged 301.3 yards per game for six touchdowns and six interceptions. He was sacked 11 times. He completed only one pass of 30 or more yards in these three games. ^[14] Due to these struggles on the field, notably against better competition where the Aggies lost three straight games, Hill was replaced mid-season by true freshman Kyle Allen. ^[15] On November 1, 2014, the team suspended Hill for two games due to a violation of team rules and athletic department policies. ^[16]

TCU

On January 9, 2015, Texas A&M granted Hill a release from his football scholarship with two years of eligibility remaining. ^[17] On May 22, 2015, Hill announced that he was transferring to Texas Christian University and planned to play for the TCU Horned Frogs football team. ^[18] As a transfer, Hill was required to sit out the 2015 season. ^[18]

Ahead of the 2016 Big 12 media days, and prior to TCU head coach Gary Patterson naming a starting quarterback for the 2016 season, Hill was selected by Big 12 media voters as the Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year. ^[5] On August 25, 2016, Hill was named the starting quarterback over redshirt sophomore Foster Sawyer. ^[19]

Hill and the Horned Frogs finished the 2017 season 11–3 and ranked 9th in both the final AP and Coaches poll. He ended the season and his college career having beat the then 15th ranked Stanford Cardinal football team, 39–37, in the 2017 Valero Alamo Bowl. ^[20]

College statistics

Season	Team	GP	Passing							Rushing
			Cmp	Att	Pct	Yds	TD	Int	Rtg	Att	Yds	Avg	TD
Texas A&M Aggies
2013	Texas A&M	4	16	22	72.7	183	1	0	157.6	7	37	5.3	0
2014	Texas A&M	8	214	321	66.7	2,649	23	8	154.6	52	156	3.0	0\
TCU Horned Frogs
2015	TCU	0	Did not play due to NCAA transfer rules
2016	TCU	13	269	440	61.1	3,208	17	13	129.2	125	609	4.9	10
2017	TCU	13	269	400	67.3	3,152	23	8	148.4	100	325	3.3	5
Totals [21]		38	768	1,183	64.9	9,192	64	29	143.1	284	1,127	4.0	15

Professional career

After being undrafted, Kenny signed a contract with the Oakland Raiders but was cut on June 24 and then on June 25, 2018, he signed with the Montreal Alouettes. ^[22]

Coaching career

Hill was hired to be a student assistant at his alma mater TCU in 2018, before being promoted to a graduate assistant position in 2019. ^[23] He was promoted to offensive analyst in 2020. ^[24]

Hill was promoted to quarterbacks coach in 2021. ^[25]

Personal life

His father, Ken Hill, played in Major League Baseball from 1988 to 2001. ^[26]

Nickname

Following Hill's huge performance against South Carolina, his predecessor, Johnny Manziel, who went by the nickname "Johnny Football" in college, called Hill "Kenny Football," along with a number of fans. Hill, however, said that the name belonged to Manziel, and instead asked to be called "Kenny Trill," with "trill" being a combination of true and real. ^[27] On September 11, 2014, Hill's family filed for the trademark of the name. ^[28]

March 2014 arrest

On March 28, 2014, before he was chosen as Texas A&M's starting quarterback, Hill was arrested on a public intoxication charge outside of a restaurant bar in College Station, Texas. ^[29] Police said Hill was unable to tell them where he was and when asked who the current president of the United States was, Hill reportedly answered “Bush” and told officers his name was “Kennedy”. ^[29] Hill later posted bail and was released from jail. Texas A&M's athletic department suspended Hill indefinitely from athletic activities afterwards. Hill eventually regained the favor of his team and head coach Kevin Sumlin and was named the starting quarterback for the 2014 season. ^[30]

References

1. "Star-Telegram Super Team: Southlake Carroll QB Kenny Hill, Offensive Player of the Year". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
2. "Southlake's Kenny Hill wins Gatorade Texas Football Player of the Year". Lone Star Gridiron. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
3. "Southlake Carroll QB joins Manziel on AP list". Associated Press. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
4. "Southlake Carroll QB Kenny Hill named AP Texas high school football player of the year; see 2012 5A-1A all-state teams". Dallas News. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
5. "Big 12 Media Preseason Football Team Announced". Big 12 Conference. July 13, 2016. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
6. "Kenny Hill Named Gatorade Texas Player Of The Year - MySouthlakeNews". November 30, 2012.
7. Southlake Carroll QB Kenny Hill wins statewide award Archived July 25, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
8. Texas A&M names former Southlake Carroll standout Kenny Hill as starting quarterback Archived August 21, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
9. "Football Recruiting – Kenny Hill – Player Profiles – ESPN". ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
10. "Johnny Next: Hill named A&M's starting QB". August 16, 2014.
11. "Kenny Hill named Texas A&M's starting quarterback". August 16, 2014.
12. Luther, David. "Lamar vs. Texas A&M: Game Grades, Analysis for the Aggies". Bleacher Report . Retrieved September 7, 2014.
13. "Kenny Hill". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
14. "Over the 'Trill'? Texas A&M reopens QB race". October 28, 2014.
15. "'Trill' is gone: Allen replaces Hill as A&M QB". October 31, 2014.
16. "Texas A&M suspends QB Hill for two games". November 2014.
17. "Update: Kenny Hill will transfer from Texas A&M; Father says he hasn't picked a school yet". The Dallas Morning News. January 9, 2015. Archived from the original on May 23, 2015. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
18. "Kenny Hill says he starts school at TCU on June 1, will join football team". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. May 22, 2015. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
19. Olson, Max (August 25, 2016). "TCU tabs ex-Texas A&M quarterback Kenny Hill as starter". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
20. Nathan, Alec. "Kenny Hill Leads TCU to Wild Comeback Victory vs. Stanford in Alamo Bowl". Bleacher Report. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
21. "Kenny Hill". ESPN.com.
22. "Alouettes sign son of former Expos pitcher Hill to PR - Article - TSN". June 25, 2018.
23. "'He brings great energy.' Former QB Kenny Hill becoming valuable member of TCU staff". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
24. "TCU grad assistant and former QB Kenny Hill promoted to offensive analyst". NBC Sports. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
25. "TCU announces Doug Meacham as offensive coordinator and Kenny Hill as QB coach". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
26. There's another Hill on the Horizon ... young Kenny Archived August 17, 2014, at archive.today
27. "Trill QB: Kenny Hill has own moniker" . Retrieved September 2, 2014.
28. Fornelli, Tom. "Kenny Hill's family trying to trademark 'Kenny Trill'" . Retrieved September 11, 2014.
29. Salazar, Andrea (March 28, 2014). "Texas A&M sophomore football player Kenny Hill arrested on public intoxication charge outside College Station bar". theeagle.com. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
30. Hinnen, Jerry (August 16, 2014). "Kevin Sumlin names Kenny Hill Texas A&M's starting QB". CBSSports.com. Retrieved August 30, 2014.

External links

• Texas A&M Aggies Bio
• ESPN profile