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The first freshman Heisman Trophy winner is still going to be wearing maroon and white for at least one more year. While only a sophomore on the field next season, Johnny Manziel will be a junior academically, after redshirting his first year on campus. That means, if he so chooses, Johnny Football can declare for the NFL draft after next season. With that possibility combined with the news this week that Jameill Showers was granted his release to transfer, it was critical that Kevin Sumlin replenished the pipeline at the quarterback position in the 2013 class.
Current Verbal Commitments
Kenny Hill - The son of former MLB pitcher Ken Hill had a monster statistical season for the Southlake Carroll dragons. The 6'2" dual-threat quarterback tallied up 3,369 yards through the air with 27 touchdowns and only 3 interceptions. On the ground, he added 33 touchdowns behind 1,421 yards rushing. Worried about playing time with Manziel ahead of him, Hill took visits to Baylor and Kansas State in January. Luckily for the Aggies, Hill still had an official visit scheduled to College Station and he made the trip the weekend of January 25th. That visit, combined with several in-home visits with Aggie coaches, seems to have erased all hesitations Hill had about Texas A&M.
2012 Honors: Texas Gatorade Player of the Year, 5A First Team All-State, District 4 - 5A MVP, Parade All-American Honorable Mention
247: #8 dual-threat QB, 4 stars
Rivals: #4 dual-threat QB, 4 stars
Scout: #16 overall QB, 4 stars
ESPN: #21 dual-threat QB, 3 stars
Kohl Stewart - The longest tenured commit, the Aggie legacy committed to Mike Sherman back in July 2011. The 6'3" gunslinger chose the Aggies over offers from LSU, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, and Florida. As a senior for St. Pius X High School in Houston, Stewart threw for 2,535 yards with 28 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. On top of being a consensus four-star quarterback, Kohl is widely considered as one of the country's top pitching prospects in this years MLB draft; leaving questions if he'll ever step foot on a college campus. He has consistently maintained that he wants to play football for Texas A&M, but I'm afraid this one will not be over until after the draft in the first week of June.
2012 Honors: Under Armour All-American, TAPPS Div.1 1st Team All-State (punter), TAPPS Div.1 2nd Team All-State (QB), TAPPS District 3 - 1 1st Team, Houston Touchdown Club Private High School Offensive Player of the Year
247: #11 pro-style QB, 4 stars
Rivals: #15 pro-style QB, 4 stars
Scout: #18 overall QB, 4 stars
ESPN: #6 pro-style QB, 4 stars
What To Watch For On Signing Day
The Aggies are done with the position for this class so the only drama could potentially come from Kenny Hill making a signing day switch. The late visits to Baylor and Kansas State are cause for concern, but expectations are that this one is over and the Ags will sign two quarterbacks in this class.
When They Hit Campus
With Showers' transfer out of the program, both freshmen QBs will be give the opportunity to compete for the backup job with redshirt-junior Matt Joeckel and redshirt-freshman Matt Davis. Expect both guys to redshirt and possibly play baseball for Rob Childress.