QB Kenny Hill looks to ‘change the narrative’ entering his final season

By Garrett Podell

Published Sep 1, 2017

TCU quarterback Kenny Hill drops back to pass. Photo courtesy of gofrogs.com

Last season was rough.

Quarterback Kenny Hill leads the Big 12 in interceptions. His teammates dropped his passes 38 times – a NCAA-high. But Hill and head coach Gary Patterson are ready to “change the narrative” this football season. Patterson said he sees similarities between Hill and the only passer with more prolific passing totals than Hill’s last season, Trevone Boykin.

“People believed that he’s not a good quarterback,” Patterson said. “He’s kind of like Trevone Boykin, trying to prove them wrong. That’s what he gets from me, anyway.”

Patterson said the dropped passes put pressure on Hill and sometimes led to interceptions.

“I think some of the problems last year was he felt like he needed to be perfect,” Patterson said. “You just need to throw it so they can catch it. That’s what quarterbacks do.”

There were some highlights to last season:

He threw for the third highest passing yard total, 3,208 passing yards and the second-most completions, 269, in school history.
His passing yards against SMU (452), Oklahoma (449) and South Dakota State (439) ranked sixth, seventh and ninth in TCU history for a single game.
His 61.1 completion percentage tied Skyler Howard’s of West Virginia for fourth in the Big 12, trailing only, Patrick Mahomes II, Mason Rudolph and Baker Mayfield.

Patterson said he might have been too hard on Hill.

“I broke him down a little bit too much, maybe not understanding quite as well,” Patterson said. “He and I have a lot better understanding of what we’re trying to get accomplished.”

Hill should benefit from this being his third season – second as a starter – under quarterbacks coach and play-caller Sonny Cumbie.

“We’re really not doing too much different, it’s all just being more comfortable in the offense, running these plays again,” Hill said. “I do lean on him a little more this year, just asking him questions, trying to learn more about the offense, more about blocking, all that stuff. Just everything, so I can better know what’s going on.”

Hill’s teammates said they can sense he’s ready to seize the moment, starting with Jackson State Saturday night.

“Man, you can just tell he’s ready to go,” cornerback Ranthony Texada said. “He’s a leader on this team. He’s ready to take that next step.”