TCU QB Hill is man Cardinal must contain
SAN ANTONIO — Kenny Hill has been on the big stage before, although it would be a stretch to say he has been there since he was a toddler.
Still, his mom was carrying him on the field before World Series games in 1995. His father, Ken, was the losing pitcher for the Cleveland Indians in Game 4; the Atlanta Braves won it in six. Ken Hill had a 14-year career in the big leagues.
The younger Hill played third base at Carroll High School in Southlake, Texas, but was known more for football. As a senior, he threw for 20 touchdowns, ran for another 22 and was the Texas Gatorade Player of the Year.
Now the starting quarterback for No. 13 TCU, he’s the player No. 15 Stanford has to contain in Thursday night’s Alamo Bowl. The 6-foot-1, 212-pound senior is a dual threat in the Horned Frogs’ up-tempo offense.
“He’s a very athletic quarterback, and he’s got a strong arm as well,” Stanford defensive coordinator Lance Anderson said. “He buys extra time with his feet. He can be a little erratic throwing at times, but, boy, when he catches a rhythm, you see the arm talent he has.”
Hill redshirted at Texas A&M in 2012, the year Johnny Manziel won the Heisman Trophy as a redshirt freshman. Hill backed up Manziel in 2013. In his first game the following year, Hill passed for 439 yards and two touchdowns and ran for three more against South Dakota State.
He passed for 3,208 yards that season — third most in school history — and also ran for 609 yards and 10 touchdowns. On the other hand, he threw 13 interceptions, more than any other quarterback in the Big 12, and ranked ninth in the conference in passing efficiency.
After eight starts in 2014, he was replaced by freshman Kyle Allen. Hill transferred to TCU. He sat out a year because of transfer rules, then became the starter going into the 2016 season.
He led the Horned Frogs to a 6-7 record (they lost to Georgia in the Liberty Bowl), throwing for 17 touchdowns, but he again threw 13 interceptions.
This season, he increased his TD passes to 21, cut his picks to six, and TCU went 10-3. In the team’s best game of the season, he led the Horned Frogs to a 44-31 upset of then-No. 6 Oklahoma State in Stillwater.
“I threw a pick early but calmed down,” he said Tuesday. “We never looked back.”
After a 14-7 loss at No. 25 Iowa State, he said, “I took that hard. It was on me. The offense didn’t really play well, and it starts with me.”
Like Stanford, TCU lost twice to a league champion, in its case, playoff-bound Oklahoma.
“They’re a great football team,” Hill said. “The No. 2 team in the country, with the Heisman Trophy winner (Baker Mayfield). I’ll absolutely be rooting for them to win the national championship.”
The 41-17 loss to Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game “left a bad taste for us,’’ he said. “We’ve got one more game, and that’s the best way to get rid of it — to play well.”