With Jonny Manziel now settling into training camp in Cleveland, it’s time for Head Coach Kevin Sumlin and the Aggies faithful to see whether Kenny Hill or Kyle Allen will win the starting job at QB.
Offensive coordinator Jake Spavital confirmed that they would give both quarterbacks an equal chance to win the job during the latest training camp that started on Friday, August 1st. Spavital confirmed that “each day, we hope to give the guys equal amounts with the 1’s and the 2’s. We’re going to put them in the same situations and see where the competition goes from there.” But it’s certain that the next few weeks will be crucial in deciding who will start in the crucial SEC clash with South Carolina on Thursday, August 28th.
Following in the footsteps of the first player ever to win the Heisman Trophy as a redshirt freshman, and only the second Aggie in history to win the award, (John David Crow being the first in 1957) will be a tough task. The Aggies offence this year will look very different depending on which QB wins the job, based around the quite different skillsets of each player.
Texas A&M Aggies QB Race
Kenny Hill:
The sophomore is more of a dual-threat QB, much like his predecessor. He performed well in relief of Manziel last year after he won the backup role from Matt Joeckel. In four separate games he went 16-22 for 183 yards and one touchdown; he also rushed for 37 yards on 7 attempts.
Coming out of spring training, many said that Hill had the edge on the field because he made fewer mistakes and seemed to be able to keep up with the speed of the game better than the freshman Allen. The experience of working with the team over the past year has obviously helped him and he is apparently back in the coaches good books after his arrest in March for public intoxication.
Kyle Allen:
The freshman was ranked as the number one pocket passer coming out of high school this year. It was seen as a big signing for the Aggies and proof that they are truly able to compete at the national level with Kevin Sumlin as head coach. Spavital said he’d have no problems starting a freshman as the Aggies QB on opening day if he proved on the field he was worthy of the role.
Allen enrolled at Texas A&M in January from Scottsdale, Arizona and is seen as the better passer of the two quarterbacks. He is also the more raw prospect, having yet to play a snap at the collegiate level and is still acclimatizing to the level of competition. But he’s impressed coaches with his ability to extend plays with his athleticism even if he isn’t a dual threat QB and many feel that even if he doesn’t win the job this year that he will overtake Hill next spring.
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