Get Ready for Kenny Hill's Reintroduction to the College Football Spotlight

Kenny Hill's 2016 season debut shouldn't be anything like his first start as a college quarterback—and that's a great thing.

Sure, the former Texas A&M phenom will have a chance to put up gaudy numbers like he did against South Carolina almost two years ago. His new team, TCU, is opening the season with FCS program South Dakota State.

But he won't have the focus of an entire college football landscape on him like he did on that famous Thursday night in August 2014. The Horned Frogs are hosting the Jackrabbits in prime time on one of the biggest opening Saturdays in college football history. TCU fans will definitely watch, but that's about it.

If Hill wins the starting quarterback job at TCU, his return to the spotlight will be gradual. The Horned Frogs take on an Arkansas team he beat for his last win at Texas A&M before easier matchups against Iowa State and SMU.

Then comes the home matchup on October 1 against Oklahoma and the chance to become a full-fledged superstar again.

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That return to the spotlight will happen for Hill, provided the TCU coaching staff makes the obvious choice for him to be Trevone Boykin's replacement over Foster Sawyer, who was last seen throwing three interceptions in a loss to Oklahoma.

TCU head coach Gary Patterson isn't automatically giving the top job to Hill, though. According to Max Olson of ESPN.com, Patterson wants to name his starter "about nine or 10 days out" from the September 3 opener against the Jackrabbits

"We judge a quarterback—I've said it once, and I'll say it 100 times—does he make everybody else better when he steps on the field?" Patterson said. "Does the offense move better? Doesn't have to be the best athlete. Has to be the guy that makes everybody else go."

It's a completely different spot than where Hill was two years ago. He was the successor to Johnny Manziel at Texas A&M, and his 511-yard, three-touchdown debut against South Carolina made him an overnight sensation.

In one game, he went from "Kenny Hill" to "Kenny Football" to the preferred "Kenny Trill."

He threw for 1,234 yards, 14 touchdowns and two interceptions over the next four games, which were all victories for the Aggies. Hill was a legitimate Heisman contender and the heir to Manziel's throne at A&M.

Then came the problems. He threw three interceptions in a road loss to Mississippi State and two more in a home loss against Ole Miss. Texas A&M pulled Hill in the fourth quarter of a 59-0 beatdown at the hands of Alabama, with his sixth pick in three games serving as the last pass he's thrown in a college game.

Kyle Allen became the starter after Hill received a two-game suspension for a violation of team rules. He never took another snap for the Aggies, opting to transfer after the start of the new year. 

It was a messy divorce after what was such a bright beginning for Hill in Aggieland, and Hill has declined to share the details publicly. TCU co-offensive coordinator Doug Meacham said he believes the situation at post-Manziel Texas A&M played into Hill's downfall there.

"It's kind of unfair," Meacham said, per David Ubben of Sports on Earth. "You're a young kid, you roll into a school where the Heisman Trophy winner is a guy that misses meetings and does whatever he wants to, and in your mind, you think, 'Well, that's just how you're supposed to do it.'"

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Even with Hill's on- and off-the-field issues toward the end of his spell at Texas A&M, Meacham and TCU wanted him on board. As Ubben writes, Meacham did his research on what went into Hill's departure and then got the final approval from Patterson.  

"[Kenny] needed to get out of the limelight," Patterson told Ubben. "He needed to get back to just being Kenny Hill, the kid I recruited out of high school." 

Hill went through the humbling process of taking classes at Tarrant County College last spring, away from the hounding spotlight he had in College Station. He later joined the Horned Frogs and spent the season on the sidelines, learning from Boykin.

That journey from instant hero to troubled former starter to JUCO student to sidelined transfer makes Hill one of the most intriguing—and potential-filled—quarterbacks to make a move in the last couple of offseason cycles.

Although his production deteriorated in the three-game losing streak at Texas A&M, Hill finished 2014 with a completion percentage of 66.7 percent. He threw nearly three times as many touchdowns as picks. His average of 8.3 yards per pass attempt would've been good enough for top 20 nationally in the 2014 season.

Hill is clearly talented, as evidenced by his red-hot play to begin his tenure as Texas A&M's starter. A more focused Hill who has had to work hard in a heated battle with Sawyer should be a spectacle.

"Coach P said, 'We want to give you this opportunity, but you've got to prove to us that you deserve this opportunity,'" Hill said, per Gil Lebreton of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "And that's what I try to do now—prove day by day that I deserve this chance."

With this chance, Hill should become a star again. After all, this is an offense coached by Meacham and Sonny Cumbie. In their first season as co-offensive coordinators, they turned Boykin, who was playing receiver when they arrived on campus, into an All-American candidate.  

Hill's quick release and starting experience in a wide-open offense makes him a perfect fit for TCU's scheme. While he didn't rack up many rushing yards at Texas A&M, he's elusive and can make big throws on the run.

"I think if everything comes together for TCU's offense, Hill can be an efficient leader who hits the big plays and makes a few more with his feet," Olson wrote earlier this month. "People tend to forget Hill was No. 2 in FBS in passing yards entering his final start at Texas A&M. ... If he can stay focused and avoid turnovers, he can be really good."

He might not inherit a Josh Doctson or a Kolby Listenbee out wide, but he does have KaVontae Turpin, who was one of college football's most exciting and versatile newcomers in 2015. Experienced targets Deante Gray and Ty Slanina are both back from long-term injuries.

Perhaps most importantly, Hill should have the security of knowing he doesn't have to do it all by himself. TCU returns eight starters on a classic Patterson 4-2-5 defense, and that unit should be the strength of the team in 2016. Hill just didn't have that kind of help from the other side at Texas A&M.

Put that defense together with Hill playing at his full potential, and it's easy to talk yourself into TCU challenging for a College Football Playoff berth this season.

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If Hill beats out Sawyer—and, as Patterson told Lebreton, TCU will need both of them in the regular season—all the pieces are there for a gradual return to the spotlight.

It won't be a quiet one. He was named the Big 12's preseason newcomer of the year last month, and he'll be sure to receive plenty of attention once Patterson makes the official call on his QB1.

But he'll have time to build his buzz at a normal pace in September instead of the instant rush of two years ago that may have led to his undoing. No one is going to crown him the early-season Heisman again.

And that's just fine for Hill. He seems locked into taking full advantage of his second chance and making sure that, this time, college football is talking about him all season long.

Stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com. Recruiting rankings are courtesy of 247Sports.

Justin Ferguson is a National College Football Analyst at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.