He is the most talked about player in college football, constantly under the media microscope where every single move he makes is watched closely and critiqued. Opinions on him vary not just in scouting circles, the media and amongst fans but in the NFL locker room where every player has a different opinion on his future in the NFL. Johnny Manziel in two years has captivated a country and created storylines that not even Tim Tebow could have dreamed of in college. But who is Manziel, we always hear about the drinking and autographs but there is more to the most interesting man in college football.
Full Name: Jonathan Paul Manziel
Date of Birth: December 6, 1992
Hometown: Kerrville, Texas
High School: Tivy High School
Class: Sophomore (RS)
Major: Sports Management
Twitter: @JManziel2
Background:
Manziel was raised in Kerrville, Texas and lived with his parents Michelle and Paul Manziel. Before anyone knew about “Johnny Football”, Kerrville was just a small town in the Hill Country just northwest of San Antonio.
High school football was always big in Texas but Manziel turned the Tivy Antlers into playoff contenders and made Antler Stadium the place to be every Friday night.
Manziel was the star of Kerrville even in high school, in his senior season he carried his team to the state semifinals and had a fantastic season in the process.
Manziel dominated his fellow competition, throwing 45 touchdowns and 3,609 yards with just five interceptions. But what has made Manziel truly special is his athleticism.
He finished with 170 carries for 1,674 rushing yards and 30 rushing touchdowns during his senior year. He even worked a little as a wide receiver and returner, returning one kickoff for 89 yards and a touchdown in his senior season and one reception for a 22-yard touchdown reception.
He finished his senior season with 77 combined touchdowns and 5,394 total yards.
He was named a Parade All-American, National High School Coach Association Football Player of the Year, Texas Associated Press Sports Editor Player of the Year and multiple All-Region and All-State honors. Despite all of the awards and leading his team to the state semifinals, Manziel was just a three-star recruit from Scout.com.
Despite the low rating, Manziel drew plenty of attention from major programs like Stanford and Oregon. Manziel kept hoping for an offer from the Texas Longhorns but the offer never came. Oregon was a leader to land Manziel for months but a commitment from Marcus Mariota and a strong push from Texas A&M convinced Manziel to sign with the Aggies.
Manziel has taken most of his classes online as he is currently working on earning his degree in sports management.
Statistics:
2012 (Redshirt-Freshman): 13 games, 295 completions on 434 attempts, 68 percent completion, 3,706 passing yards, 26 passing touchdowns, nine interceptions, 155.3 Quarterback Rating, 201 rushing attempts, 1,410 rushing yards and 21 rushing touchdowns
2013 (Sophomore): 10 games, 230 completions on 315 pass attempts, 73 percent completion, 3,313 passing yards, 31 passing touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 186.9 Quarterback Rating, 110 rushing attempts, 611 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns
For almost two years now, Manziel has been the most exciting player in college football. It doesn’t matter what you think about him as a person, you want to watch him every chance you get. He plays in the best conference in all of college football, and every single week he provides us with more eye-popping stats and dazzling highlight plays to enjoy.
Last season Manziel set the world of college football on fire in just his first year of college action. When Manziel was named the Aggies’ starting quarterback by coach Kevin Sumlin, nobody could have imagined what was coming next. It was a remarkable season for Manziel and the Aggies, with Manziel becoming the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy, along with the Davey O’Brien Award, Manning Award and SEC Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year. Texas A&M would finish the season 11-2 including a dominating 41-13 over the Oklahoma Sooners in the AT&T Cotton Bowl. It was in that dominating bowl win, Manziel set the Cotton Bowl record with 516 total yards and four total touchdowns.
Manziel had unreal expectations entering the 2013 season and so far he has done an excellent job living up to everyone’s hopes for him. While Manziel has battled through some injuries and hasn’t run the ball as much, he has made strides as a passer and staying inside the pocket. He has become a real dual-threat who can beat the opposing teams with his feet by running around the field but he now is patient enough to stay in the pocket and make big plays with his arm. The Aggies are 8-2 right now with two games remaining on the road against LSU and then Missouri to end the season. If Manziel could lead the Aggies to victories it would almost certainly clinch another BCS Bowl appearance and a spot in the Top 10 and make him the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy for the second year in a row. This will almost certainly be Manziel’s last season of college football but it has been another great one and he will go down in history as one of the best college football players ever.
Extra Facts:
Manziel is well known not just for his play on the field, but plenty of incidents that have occurred off of it. Even before he took the field, Manziel was arrested in June of 2012 for failing to identify himself to police after a fight.
After his Heisman season he became even more famous in the offseason for numerous incidents that captivated the sports media and fans.
In August we learned he accepted money from an autograph broker for signing thousands of memorabilia in an apartment.
Texas A&M suspended Manziel for the first half of the opener against Rice and while that was his only punishment from the team and NCAA, his public image took a major hit.
But perhaps the most damaging incident occurred in July at the Manning Passing Academy where Manziel was kicked out. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner and Manning Award winner was kicked out of the prestigious Manning Camp featuring Peyton Manning, Eli Manning and Archie Manning. While no specific reason was ever given, Manziel was spotted at a bar on a Friday morning during camp and was a no-show on Saturday. While some brushed it off as just a college kid getting drunk, many saw it as a slap in the face to the most respected name in football and incredibly disrespectful. These two incidents paired with an offseason filled with photos of Manziel drinking at parties built a strong negative perception of Manziel as a person and pointed toward a problem with alcohol.
But what the media and fans outside of College Station and Kerrville rarely talk about is the real personality and character of Manziel.
What is rarely talked about is the work Manziel does outside of the spotlight with Charlie’s Angels and just working with kids in general.
Manziel’s biggest fan is six-year-old Charlie Dina, who just a few months ago was declared free of cancer by his doctors. It wasn’t just any cancer, Charlie had stage-four pediatric cancer.
After hearing about Charlie’s situation, Manziel invited Charlie and his family as his personal guest to an Aggies game and the connection grew from there.
Since then the pair have formed a close bond and really become close friends. Manziel’s work with Charlie’s Angels is so unknown you have to type in “Johnny Manziel Charl” before it pops up and it’s still the third result behind “Johnny Manziel Charles Barkley”. If you type in just “Johnny Manziel C” you will see controversy, car, celebration, cocky and charges long before Charlie’s Angels pops up.
Sometimes it’s just the little things that Manziel does that can make a child’s day. From giving one smiling fan a high-five that he will remember for a lifetime.
It’s not always children though; Manziel also has shown his caring and emotional side for older fans like Uncle Joel who suffers from cerebral palsy.
Manziel is far from perfect; at the age of 20 he has made plenty of mistakes in just a few short years as a student-athlete under the biggest media microscope there is. From an arrest before he even took the field for the first game to what happened at the Manning Camp, he has a lot of growing up to do.
But far too often we like to focus on the negative and bring down anyone who is at the top. There is a reason we don’t often hear about Manziel’s community work, because it doesn’t sell headlines.
There has also been a lot of talk about Manziel and his attitude and ego on the field. He celebrated big plays by rubbing his hands together with the money sign and showing autograph gestures just weeks after we learned about the payments. He lets it loose on the field, both with his play and his personality, not afraid of getting in the opponent’s face even after the whistle. He is arrogant but that arrogance is driven by strong self-confidence and a fire that burns inside him. Too often players don’t succeed because they don’t have the passion for the game to put in all the work, or the confidence to take chances and not get down when one thing goes wrong. You don’t have to worry about that with Manziel, he gives it his all while out there on the field and doesn’t quit.
Draft Outlook:
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 210 lbs.
40 Time: 4.45 Seconds
When it comes to Manziel’s draft stock, there is no question that creates more debate and craziness among draftniks and scouts.
Some want to compare him to Russell Wilson and say that Wilson would now go in the top-five if the draft were today, so why shouldn’t Manziel.
It’s an argument that has plenty of flaws but one stands out.
This goes back to after Wilson was drafted and the quote doesn’t even come from the Seattle Seahawks. Kansas City Chiefs general manager John Dorsey said Wilson’s interview with the Packers was the “most impressive interview I’ve ever had in the last 25 years of doing this, wasn’t even close.
You could feel the guy as a person, how strong he was, how intellectually deep he was, how mentally tough he was”. In 25 years Dorsey had never seen a player impress in interviews as much as Wilson, and Wilson went in the third round.
Now granted, Manziel is potentially a two-time Heisman Trophy winner and dominated the SEC, but he will still have to answer for some of the questionable decisions he made in college and how he will adjust to the NFL game where the microscope is even bigger and the pressure is 10x larger. He w
ill impress at the combine showing off his athleticism but scouts will still need to watch his game film and look at his throws and determine if he ahs the decision-making ability and accuracy to be an NFL quarterback.
I believe Manziel will impress executives and coaches when they interview him during the draft process. It won’t be near the same level as a Wilson, but he is well spoken in interviews and will be given the chance to open up and account for his mistakes. While he still has a lot of room to grow as a quarterback with his footwork, mechanics and decision-making, I don’t believe arm strength is as big of a problem as people think. In the end I think we see Manziel hear his name called within the first five picks of the second round. He is a risk-reward prospect but if a team hits on him, they will have a star on their hands.