Kevin Sumlin, the unlikely QB guru

— -- Beginning Aug. 3, we're counting down the days until the college football season starts with a look at the 25 most interesting people in the sport.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Johnny Manziel is in Aggieland no more. Life after Johnny Football beckons for Texas A&M.

While much of the college football world is focused on who is not in College Station, A&M fans are concerned more with who will be atop the quarterback depth chart now that one of the most dynamic players in the sport's history is gone.

Kyle Allen or Kenny Hill? Those are the options; the answer will be known within the next week. The winner earns the right to start at South Carolina on Aug. 28.

This isn't new for Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin. He traveled the preseason quarterback competition path twice before as a head coach, and both times, the winner became a record-setting passer who changed his school's history forever. Look deeper into Sumlin's history and it becomes evident that he has a knack for being in the presence of elite college quarterbacks, including Drew Bledsoe at Washington State, Drew Brees at Purdue, Jason White and Sam Bradford at Oklahoma, and Case Keenum at Houston.

"This guy has had the darndest luck with quarterbacks," joked retired Purdue coach Joe Tiller, who both coached Sumlin and coached with him. "He's been at the right place at the right time."

And while it's worth noting that this choice will yield the first Sumlin quarterback recruit to start a season opener in his head-coaching career, at what point is it not coincidence?

That's true, but it's clear by now that Sumlin has something to do with it, as well.