A look at Texas A&M's Johnny Manzeil

Many of our FB friends are die hard A&M fans, and with football stars like Johnny Manziel it’s no secret why:

Johnny Manzeil was the first freshman and only the second Aggie to win the most coveted Heisman Trophy. This individual honor received after 150 first-place votes after a record setting season.  Manzeil received the Davey O’Brien Award and the Manning Award and was named college player of the year after completing 295 of his 434 passes for 3,706 yards and 26 touchdowns while throwing only nine interceptions.  For those of you who have followed Manziel know that he was given the nickname "Johnny Football" at Texas A&M before the start of the 2012 season.

Taking a look back into his high school years it was without a doubt that Manzeil was going to charge ahead and make a name for himself with no looking back. Manzeil was coached by Mark Smith at Kerrville Tivy High School. He grew up playing a variety of sports, including basketball, baseball, golf and football at  Tivy High School located in Kerville Texas. While in highschool Manzeil focused mainly on baseball and football. He played football all four years in high school and began with the freshman team his first year. By the end of his first season, he played with the varsity team as a receiver. He began his sophomore year primarily as a receiver, but started the fourth game at quarterback. He shared that position for the remainder of the season, finishing with 1,164 yards passing, 806 rushing and 408 receiving for a combined 28 touchdowns. 

It is was no surprise that Manzeil quickly became a highly-decorated prep player that was named National High School Coach Association Football Player of the Year, quickly followed by being named the Texas Associated Press Sports Editors Player of the Year. Looking back to Manzeil as a sophomore, he had 717 rushing yards and 12 Touchdowns; 59-of-88 passing for 922 yards with 10 Touchdowns and 0 INTs; 19 receptions for 357 yards and 1 Touchdown in his junior year.   In his junior year, Manziel received All-San Antonio Area Offensive Player of the Year honors and District 27-4A MVP honors after posting 218-of-356 passing for 2,903 yards with 19 Touchdowns and 5 INTs; 242 carries for 1,544 yards and 34 TDs; 5 receptions for 152 yards and 2 TD’s. His senior season Manzeil compiled 228-of-347 (65.7%) passing for 3,609 yards with 45 Touchdowns and 5 INTs; 170 carries for 1,674 yards and 30 Touchdown’s; 1 Touchdown reception; 1 kickoff return for a Touchdown. 

 Manziel received All-San Antonio Area Offensive Player of the Year honors and District 27-4A MVP honors after posting 218-of-356 passing for 2,903 yards with 19 Touchdowns and 5 INTs; 242 carries for 1,544 yards and 34 Touchdowns; 5 receptions for 152 yards and 2 Touchdowns.

The list of firsts in Manzeil's football career is more than impressive and is no wonder why he was named Associated Press SEC Player of the Year along with SEC Freshman of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year.  Manzeil is the only player in NCAA history to surpass the 5,000 total yards and 1,000 rushing yards level in a single season and the first SEC player, first freshman and fifth NCAA FBS player to pass for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a season. Even more impressive is that Manzeil broke the NCAA freshman record for QB rushing yards and total offense which is accounted for 47 TDs (26 pass, 21 rush) resulting in a school record and ranks No. 3 in SEC history.

Manziel was projected to be a first-round pick in the NFL draft, and as of January 15, 2014, his draft stock was reported to be rising as a top-5 pick. Prior to the 2014 NFL Draft, Manziel has become one of the most polarizing athletes in pre-draft history.  The Harlem Globetrotters have drafted showman Johnny Manziel. That makes “Johnny Football” the three-way draft choice of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns, baseball’s San Diego Padres and now basketball’s ultimate team of showmen with their red, white and blue ball.  

Manziel already has a deal with Nike for a line of clothing including a “Johnny Football” t-shirt.