TCU QB Hill raises concerns for OU coach Stoops

Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said he has been impressed by how productive the TCU offense has remained in its first season under quarterback Kenny Hill, the replacement for NFL-bound Trevone Boykin.

Hill, a transfer from Texas A&M, ranks fourth nationally in passing yards (371.8 per game) and fifth in total offense (413.2 avg.) heading into Saturday’s showdown in Fort Worth between No. 21 TCU (3-1, 1-0 in Big 12) and Oklahoma (1-2, 0-0), the defending league champion and preseason favorite. TCU is averaging 42.8 points per game in its spread offense, slightly ahead of the team’s pace last season under Boykin (42.1 avg.), now a rookie with the Seattle Seahawks.

Asked during Monday’s Big 12 coaches teleconference what caught his eye the most in film studies of the Horned Frogs, Stoops said: “Probably as much as anything, Kenny Hill’s ability to make plays. He’s a hard guy to get a hold of when he’s running around. That, and the ability to spread the ball around as much as they do in the throwing game.”

TCU had 12 different players catch passes in last week’s 33-3 victory over SMU. Four different receivers have caught at least 16 passes through four games, with running back Kyle Hicks having the most receptions (20). Receiver John Diarse, a graduate transfer from LSU, leads the team in receiving yards (290) and another newcomer, junior-college transfer Taj Williams, is for the team lead in TD catches with Jaelan Ausin (2 each), a sophomore from South Grand Prairie.

“The offense is still the same. They didn’t get a new offense,” Stoops said. “They’ve got some new pieces in it.”

This story was originally published September 26, 2016 at 1:34 PM with the headline "TCU QB Hill raises concerns for OU coach Stoops."