Hill beats out Allen at Texas A&M

A competition that Kevin Sumlin had previously noted was “dead even” has concluded, as the Texas A&M head coach chose sophomore Kenny Hill over true freshman Kyle Allen on Saturday for the right to replace Johnny Manziel as the team's starting quarterback.

Both Hill and Allen were competing for the starting job since spring practice.

The decision comes following a Friday scrimmage that was closed to the media. Sumlin and offensive coordinator Jake Spavital are handing the keys to the offense over to Hill, who will make his first college start against South Carolina at Williams-Brice Stadium on August 28. As a backup to Manziel in 2013, Hill appeared in five games and completed 16 of 22 passes with one touchdown.

Both signal-callers were highly regarded coming out of high school, with Hill being one of the better dual-threats in the 2013 class and Allen being arguably the best pro-style quarterback in the 2014 class. It's only a matter of time before Allen sees the field because he has exceptional passing skills for a young player as well as deceptive athleticism.

But, at least for now, Hill will be in charge of running what is expected to be another productive offense under Sumlin, who's hoping the Aggies' defense can make major improvements from their disastrous unit in 2013.

Dave Miller, the college football editor for the National Football Post, is on Twitter @Miller_Dave.

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