Hill ends roller-coaster career with triumph
Comeback victory ‘means everything’ to ex-Aggies QB
SAN ANTONIO — There were promising moments early but also some struggles, such as fluttering, off-target passes that went directly to players on the opposing team.
Kenny Hill regrouped, adjusted and started to find his groove during the middle stages of the Valero Alamo Bowl on Thursday, throwing crisp passes with his right arm while making critical gains with his legs. TCU’s senior quarterback also added a key catch, which gave him a feat no other player in college football has accomplished this season, scoring touchdowns via the run, pass and catch.
Hill’s biggest thrill of all was the Horned Frogs’ 3937 come-from-behind win against Stanford in front of 57,563 fans at the Alamodome. He was named offensive most valuable player after throwing for 314 yards and two touchdowns, rushing for a teamhigh 60 yards with another score and also catching a TD pass on a gadget play early in the second half.
“We didn’t want to go out like how it was headed,” said Hill, whose team trailed 21-3 midway through the second quarter. “So, we had to turn it around.”
Much the same could be said about Hill’s college career. The high school state champion from Southlake Carroll initially went to Texas A&M, where he backed up Johnny Manziel as a freshman in 2013 and succeeded the Heisman Trophy winner the following year.
A bumpy ride
Hill’s tenure with the Aggies started splendidly — he passed for 511 yards and three TDs while winning his first career start — but ended unceremoniously. He was arrested and charged with public intoxication during the offseason before his sophomore season and suspended for two games during that season for violating team rules, losing his starting role in the process.
He transferred to Tarrant County College for one semester and then TCU, where he had to sit out the 2015 season because of NCAA transfer rules. The 6-1, 212-pound Hill became the Horned Frogs’ starting quarterback in 2016 and threw for 6,360 yards and 40 TDs during the last two seasons.
He helped lead this year’s TCU team to 11 wins — the third time in the last four years the program has recorded double-digit wins.
“Everything he’s done since he got here three years ago has been on this kind of spiral, going straight up climbing the mountain,” TCU coach Gary Patterson said. “He left here a winner.”
Thirteenth-ranked Stanford (9-5) had Hill and No. 15 TCU (11-3) on the losing end for much of the night. The Cardinal’s Frank Buncom had two first-half interceptions of Hill, who completed 10 of 19 passes for 71 yards in the first half.
Hill, who rushed for a 7-yard TD late in the first half, completed his first two passes in the second half and helped spark TCU’s comeback. He capped the opening possession of the third quarter with a 27-yard scoring reception from Desmon White, who took a lateral to the right side and threw back to a wide-open Hill on the left side.
Hill threw an 11-yard TD pass to White later in the third period and connected with Jalen Reagor on a 93yard scoring strike early in the fourth quarter. Hill finished the second half 17of-21 passing for 243 yards.
On the score to White, Hill scrambled behind the line of scrimmage until his receiver got open. He hit Reagor in stride on the deep ball down the right sideline.
“We knew Kenny Hill was a special football player who can run but also make some big throws,” Stanford coach David Shaw said. “We didn’t take advantage of every errant throw, but he came back and threw some absolutely beautiful balls. That’s what kind of player he is. He’s streaky, and he got hot.”
Signature win
Hill was left out in the cold early in his college career but found comfort in Fort Worth, where he has avoided the off-the-field struggles he had in College Station. He has performed well on the field, too, winning 17 games while completing more than 64 percent of his 840 passes.
Thursday’s game, although not his best statistically, could be considered a crowning achievement for Hill. It also could be considered a microcosm of his career, with the shaky start, more opportunities and eventually triumph.
“To come back and win with this group of guys, who accepted me the minute I came in, it feels great,” Hill said. “It means everything to me.”