Southlake Carroll QB wins APSE player of year honor

DALLAS - Southlake Carroll quarterback Kenny Hill is joining Johnny Manziel on a short list of Texas high school football stars. He plans on joining the Heisman Trophy winner at Texas A&M next year, too.

Hill was named the Texas Associated Press Sports Editors player of the year after leading Carroll on another long playoff run a year after winning a Class 5A state championship.

Manziel was the AP player of the year in 2010 at Kerrville Tivy.

Hill, who has orally committed to the Aggies, was chosen by a panel of sports writers and editors who cover high school football in Texas. He was eligible for the honor after being named the offensive player of the year on the Class 5A all-state team.

Kenny Hill, the son of former major league pitcher Ken Hill, threw for 2,291 yards and 20 touchdowns during the regular season. He had 905 yards rushing and 20 more scores.

Carroll lost to DeSoto, 49-45, in the state quarterfinals when Hill was stopped three times at the goal line in the final seconds. He already had five touchdowns in the game.

A year earlier, Hill led Carroll to the Class 5A Division I title with a 36-29 victory against Fort Bend Hightower. It was Carroll's eighth state championship.

"It was a great ride," Hill said. "I'm honored to say I was a quarterback at Southlake Carroll."

Hill became the starter the fourth game of his sophomore season and had a three-year record of 36-5. He had 11,375 career total yards and 131 touchdowns - 67 passing and 64 rushing.

"Kenny really relished the role of leader. He really relished the role of quarterback. He really relished the role of the game being on his shoulders," Carroll coach Hal Wasson said. "I think that's what made him special."

It didn't take Wasson long to notice the difference after they put Hill on the field as a sophomore.

"Our offense just didn't have the 'wow,'" the coach said. "We inserted him in the game, and literally six plays later, he takes us 80 yards. He's got a presence about him."

Hill is about to be teammates with a quarterback who has redefined "presence" in Manziel. When Hill committed to the Aggies, Johnny Football didn't exist yet. But now he could spend three years behind a quarterback who broke Cam Newton's SEC record with 4,600 yards total offense in 12 games.

That isn't changing Hill's mind, and he still plans on being a quarterback.

"I just loved everything about it," Hill said. "Loved College Station. Loved the coaches there."

Hill said he grew up thinking baseball first because he "wanted to be just like my dad." Ken Hill spent 14 seasons in the major leagues and was a 16-game winner on the first Texas Rangers team to reach the playoffs in 1996.

The younger Hill started migrating more to football in junior high, and now says it will be football first with the Aggies, although he does plan to play baseball. He's been mostly a third baseman in high school.

"I was just always impressed at his demeanor," Wasson said. "Some things you coach; some things you don't coach. As coaches, you always really admired his composure, his pocket presence, his ability to come through adverse situations and not really waver. It was really fun to watch his maturation."

Winners of the Texas Associated Press Sports Editors player of the year award:

2012: Kenny Hill, QB, Southlake Carroll

2011: Johnathan Gray, RB, Aledo

2010: Johnny Manziel, QB, Kerrville Tivy

2009: Scotty Young, QB, Denton Ryan

2008: Garrett Gilbert, QB, Lake Travis

2007: Jacquizz Rodgers, RB, Rosenberg Lamar