Former TCU QB Kenny Hill has caught the coaching bug. Will he stay with the Frogs?

Former TCU and Southlake Carroll quarterback Kenny Hill never envisioned himself as a coach. He figured he’d play professionally as long as he could and then become a sports agent.

Things change, though, and Hill discovered coaching is his passion by spending last season as a student assistant with TCU.

“Absolutely. I loved it,” Hill said. “It was everything I kind of hoped it’d be. It was a good time. Me and the quarterbacks? We all jelled.

“The season didn’t go exactly how we wanted it to, but we ended it with a bowl win. It was a good year for me coaching-wise. This is something I could see myself doing for the long run.”

With that, Hill is now focused on continuing his coaching career. Sure, he’d be interested if an independent football team in the Alliance of American Football (AAF) or XFL offered him a chance to play. But he has accepted the reality that his playing days may be over.

“I would love to play football, but I’m cool with coaching,” Hill said. “It’s been fun. I’ve enjoyed it a lot.

“The biggest change is just on game day. Like before the game, I’m thinking, ‘I need to be doing something and getting ready for this game.’ But you realize you’re not playing, you’re coaching.”

Continuing his coaching career at TCU would be Hill’s preference, but an opportunity to do so might not present itself. So he isn’t ruling anything out at this point, including coaching in the high school ranks.

Hill had a stellar career at Southlake Carroll, earning 2012 Texas Gatorade Player of the Year honors and being named to the Star-Telegram’s first-team Super Team.

“I’m really open to whatever,” Hill said. “Just whatever ends up being the best opportunity. I would love to stay here at TCU and coach here because this is my preferred spot. But I’d be open to almost anything when it comes down to it.”

At the very least, Hill enters the coaching world with plenty of well-respected mentors on his side. Gary Patterson’s status and tenure speaks for itself.

Co-offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie is considered a young, promising coach, and fellow co-offensive coordinator Curtis Luper has worked on a national championship-winning staff.

“Coach Loop talks to me about coaching and says, ‘Hey, man, this is what I did. This is what you can do,’” Hill said. “All of the coaches have been that way and been very helpful. If I have a question, they all say, ‘Fire away.’”

Hill also couldn’t have asked for better on-the-job training than what TCU endured in 2018. The Frogs had a seemingly endless list of injuries, particularly at the quarterback position.

Opening day starter Shawn Robinson tried to play through a shoulder injury, but ultimately had to undergo season-ending surgery. Then backup Mike Collins sustained a season-ending injury in the Baylor game.

That left the Frogs with fifth-year senior Grayson Muehlstein in the starting role. Muehlstein managed the offense well enough to win the Baylor game, and was the starting quarterback when TCU punched its bowl ticket with a win over Oklahoma State in the regular season finale.

Muehlstein didn’t play well in the Cheez-It Bowl, but TCU still found a way to win it. Hill had a first-hand view of it all.

“My first year of coaching was probably the craziest season you can have,” Hill said, chuckling. “I don’t know too many coaches who have gone through things like that. But it was great and showed me that it’s not just about having the starters ready.

“Every single quarterback on the roster needs to know what’s going on and has to be ready to step in and play.”

That included prized freshman recruit Justin Rogers, who is still rehabbing his way back from a severe knee injury he sustained in high school. Rogers played just one series this season – in the fourth quarter of the Cheez-It Bowl when Muehlstein was sidelined with an injury – and showed he’s still not 100 percent with a drop-foot condition.

But Hill has seen a lot of upside in Rogers even if nobody knows when it’ll fully come to fruition.

“He’s taken tremendous strides,” Hill said. “In the bowl game, you saw him shrug that one dude off [on a blitz], you saw that first step burst, but his foot wasn’t fully healthy. And him throwing the ball, he’s really had to re-learn a lot of things. He’s been throwing all arm, so this whole year has been growing and getting that feeling back.

“You can see him start to become more comfortable.”

That’s spoken just like a coach.

This story was originally published January 4, 2019 at 11:30 AM.