Can Kenny Hill be better than Johnny Manziel at Texas A&M?

If one game is any indication of Kenny Hill’s future success, life after Johnny Manziel will be just fine for Kevin Sumlin and the Texas A&M Aggies.

Hill was nothing short of magnificent in his first start for the Aggies on Thursday night as he dissected an inexperienced and overmatched South Carolina secondary with ease and finishing with passing numbers better than Manziel had in his two historic years in College Station.

The redshirt freshmen finished with 511 passing yards, breaking the 464-yard performance Manziel had in 2013 against the Alabama Crimson Tide, establishing the new benchmark for Texas A&M quarterbacks.

"“Nobody gave us a chance. I think we proved we’re not a one-trick pony …. We’re not going any where any time soon.” — Kevin Sumlin said on the SEC Network after the 52-28 win."

Hill was efficient as he completed 44 of his 60 attempts, a new school record, with three touchdowns and zero interceptions. South Carolina gave up 680 yards, the most the Gamecocks have ever allowed.

He misfired on a would-be touchdown to Ricky Seals-Jones on the first series, the only mistake he made on the night, while showing the unflappability of a fifth-year senior.

SEC Network analyst and former Alabama quarterback, Greg McElroy, who graduated from the same high school as Hill (Southlake Carroll), called his performance “magical” and showed better decision-making than Manziel.

The Aggies gigged em, no doubt about it, said SEC Network’s Brent Musberger at the end of the telecast on Thursday.

Manziel also made his college debut against a ranked team from the SEC east when he played the Florida Gators, but the eventual Heisman Trophy winner only threw for 173 yards on 23-20 passing and zero passing touchdowns in the loss.

Just don’t start calling him “Kenny Football” after this performance. He prefers to go by “King of the Hill.”

Texas A&M had a quarterback competition deep into fall camp between Hill and No. 1 quarterback recruit, Kyle Allen, with many expecting the true freshman to get the nod to start the opener. Sumlin referred to the race between the two as “dead even” one week before naming Hill the starter.

Much of the conversation about Texas A&M was how they could possibly replace Manziel. Well, had people done their homework on Hill, they would have seen that he was a better recruit than Manziel was entering college.

Many questioned who Hill was entering tonight’s game. No doubt that question was answered tonight.

Hill ranked as the No. 230 overall recruit, No. 10 dual-threat quarterback and the No. 34 recruit in the state of Texas, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings. He won the AP Texas 5A Offensive Player of the Year Award after throwing for 3,369 yards and 27 touchdowns to only three touchdowns and added 1,421 rushing yards and 33 touchdowns.

Manziel was the No. 393 overall recruit, No. 13 dual-threat quarterback and No. 64 recruit. After seeing the record-breaking performance from Hill it makes me wonder how special can Allen be when he gets his opportunity and how great 2015 commit, Kyler Murray, will be when he enrolls next year.

As long as Sumlin is the head coach, Texas A&M could morph into “QBU.” Sumlin has been on coaching staffs that have coached Drew Bledsoe, Drew Brees, Jason White, Sam Bradford, Case Keenum and Manziel.

In a few years we could be adding Hill’s name to that list of quarterbacks that includes two No. 1 overall picks, three Heisman winners, three first round picks and the NCAA all-time leading passer in Keenum.

Is it too early to start the Heisman campaign for Hill?

Yes and no.

It would be easy to look at what Hill did against the No. 9 team in the nation with an 18-game home winning streak and project what he can do when he gets more comfortable in the offense and expect huge numbers.

The last two Heisman winners (Jameis Winston, Manziel) were first-year starters and redshirt freshmen just like Hill and his weapons are going to give defensive coordinators fits all year.

Seals-Jones is the next Mike Evans at 6-5, 225-pounds and with Malcome Kennedy, Josh Reynolds, Edward Pope and highly-regarded freshman, Speedy Noil rounding out the receiving corp, Hill has more weapons than Manziel ever had to work with during his two seasons.

Hill hit nine different receivers by halftime and 12 different players caught passes on the night. How do you defend this team with Jake Spavital calling a flawless game and Hill executing it to perfection?

Having said that, sweeping conclusions and overreactions are commonplace after one week and it can be easy to be a prisoner of the moment and throw out hyperbolic statements.

Is Texas A&M going to win the SEC Championship Game, play in the College Football Playoff and see Hill win the Heisman?

The answers to those questions are likely still the same as they were on Thursday morning before Hill’s All-American first impression.

Thursday’s game may say more about South Carolina than it did about Texas A&M, but asking those three questions are no longer as far-fetched as they would have been 24 hours ago.

No one gave Texas A&M a chance in this game and expected a year of transition with the loss of the program’s best player.

Four quarters changed the season outlook for this team and a preseason projection of a sixth-place finish in the SEC west now looks foolish.

We won’t know for a couple of years if Hill will be a better player or as decorated as Manziel was in college, but life after Manziel doesn’t look so bleak after all.

In fact, it could reach new heights under Hill and get Texas A&M the SEC championship that Manziel never won.