The race to replace Johnny Manziel renewed in earnest Friday at Texas A&M, with Jake Spavital making it perfectly clear that this will be a quarterback competition in the truest -- and fairest --sense of the word.
The two combatants, sophomore Kenny Hill (pictured) and true freshman Kyle Allen, commenced the initial phase of the competition during spring practice. As the fight for the job moves into summer camp, each will be getting their fair share of reps.
And by fair share, Spavital means split evenly right down the middle.
“Right now, we’re splitting reps 50/50. There is no front-runner yet,” the A&M offensive coordinator said. “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.”
The hope is that, through the first 15 days of camp, one of the two separates himself for the other, allowing the coaching staff to name a starter and give him plenty of time to prepare for the opener against South Carolina a couple of weeks later.
As for the two competitors? Hill showed flashes last season that lead some to believe he could, like Manziel two years ago, be successful and productive right out of the gate. Allen comes in with the high-profile pedigree, a five-star member of the Aggies’ 2014 recruiting class rated as the No. 1 pro-style quarterback in the country and the No. 7 player at any position.
Spavital offered up his thumbnail thoughts on the two candidates, via the San Antonio Express-News, after the first day of camp:On sophomore Kenny Hill: “He’s been here for a year, and he’s learned under Johnny Manziel and understands how this offense operates. He’s more of an athletic guy, and he’s got a pretty quick release, too.”
On freshman Kyle Allen: “He’s inexperienced, but he’s been here six months and gone through spring ball. He’s got a very strong arm and probably throws the best deep ball out of all of them.”The way it stands now, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see either of the two under center when the Aggies travel to Columbia later this month in a game against the Gamecocks that will also serve as the SEC opener for both programs.