Greatness Awaits: Johnny Football's wild ride

The first time I talked to Johnny Manziel following one of his games as Texas A&M’s starting quarterback, he asked me what I thought of the Aggies’ performance against Florida — a 20-17 loss to open the 2012 season and usher in the SEC Era in Aggieland.
 
“Pretty impressive,” I said. “You guys are going to be really good, and soon.”
 
“We’re already really good,” explained Manziel. “We’re going to be great. Should’ve won today and I don’t think we’ll lose another game this year.”
 
Pretty strong words for a young man who had just made his first collegiate start, leading a team coming off of a 6-6 season and entering the almighty Southeastern Conference.  
 
As we all know by now, the rest is history. Manziel and the Aggies would drop just one more game the rest of the season, knocking off Alabama and Oklahoma en route to a top-five finish, a Cotton Bowl victory and, of course, Johnny becoming the first-ever freshman to claim the Heisman Trophy.
 
That same night, he also told me that he had four years to help bring a national championship to Texas A&M and was dead serious when saying that he wouldn’t rest until he made it happen. What Manziel didn’t know at the time — what none of us knew — was that he didn’t have four years. He only had two.
 
That’s because, seemingly overnight, the fast, shifty playmaker who gave a great Florida defense fits last September developed into the sensation known worldwide as Johnny Football. The bottom line is that Johnny was better than even he thought.
 
A lot better.
 
By the time his unforgettable, record-setting freshman season came to an end, Manziel had gone from undersized quarterback whose lack of size and unorthodox style would make him a four-year player to one of the most intriguing, scrutinized and talked-about prospects scouts had ever seen.
 
And they haven’t stopped talking since.
 
The combination of two of the greatest individual seasons ever put together by a college quarterback, a seismic shift in how the position is evaluated at the pro level thanks to the likes of Drew Brees, Cam Newton, Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernik and the recent success of true spread offenses in the NFL has led to Manziel’s draft stock and pro future being debated ad nauseum since his systematic destruction of Oklahoma in last year’s Cotton Bowl.  By New Year’s Day, the Manziel-to-NFL discussion reached a crescendo in the hours and days after he had once again dropped the mic following another brilliant performance in a bowl.
 
After Johnny Football led the Aggies back from a 21-point deficit and past Duke in the Chick-fil-A Bowl on New Year’s Eve — completing all but one of his second half passes, showing tremendous leadership, fight and fire and making several jaw-dropping plays along the way — there was still plenty to discuss but nothing left to debate. The time had come … a year or two earlier than Aggieland, and probably even Manziel himself, would have liked.
 
Yes, Johnny could return for his junior season and live life as the most famous college athlete America has ever seen for one more year while chasing that National Championship. There’s also that whole repeat Heisman thing, going down as the greatest of all-time and the new college football playoff season — one that ends with the championship game at Cowboys Stadium in Manziel’s home state of Texas.

There’s also the scrutiny that comes with being in a spotlight as bright as the one Johnny lives under, the fact that he’s a virtual lock to be drafted in this year’s top 10 (if not hear his name called as one of the first five picks) and the very real risk of injury … something Manziel became all too familiar with during a physically-taxing 2013 season.
 
As it stands today, Johnny is on the precipice of not only realizing his lifelong dream of being an NFL quarterback but also earning millions upon millions of dollars. All of the draft dominoes — early entry decisions, several teams in the top-10 desperately needing quarterbacks and Manziel’s sensational send-off — have fallen in the Heisman Trophy winner’s favor. Again, he’ll earn millions as a top-ten selection. But what’s been routinely overlooked by those debating his decision is how much Manziel stands to earn in endorsement deals. And that’s before ever throwing an NFL pass.
 
For the most marketable and celebrated player to enter the draft since Cam Newton, the Aggie quarterback stands to make what, $20, $30, $50-million from day one? It’s never all about the money and that’s especially true in this instance, but things came together perfectly for Manziel to capitalize on his God-given gifts while also fulfilling a childhood dream.

As important as anything else, Johnny is leaving Aggieland on a high note and feeling nothing but love for and from the fan base he holds so dear. Forget the fact that the haters will point out that Manziel grew up a Longhorn fan, a misconstrued tweet and that, given the option, the dude likes to travel to wherever the party takes him. None of that has anything to do with how Johnny feels about Aggieland and the 12th Man.
 
Racing to the corner of Bryant-Denny Stadium following the Ags’ monumental upset of top-ranked Alabama in Tuscaloosa, the ‘Heisman Trophy victory lap’ in 2012 following a touchdown toss against Missouri, Manziel’s final moments on the Kyle Field turf in November against Mississippi State and, of course, his words and actions following the rousing come-from-behind win over Duke. Those are all from-the-heart, emotionally charged moments that aren’t faked. They’re real, just like Manziel’s affection for a place that he has grown to love more in the past three years than most know.
 
Perhaps that’s why last July marked the first time that I’d ever seen Manziel uncomfortable and, for lack of a better word, unhappy. An offseason of scrutiny the likes of which few athletes have ever seen or will ever see came to a head when Johnny was caught in the middle of an autograph scandal carrying accusations that threatened his eligibility and, with it, the ability to do what he does best on fall Saturdays.

Once the investigation was over and the longest of offseasons was finally in the rearview mirror, Johnny seemed to have an even greater affection for Aggieland than before, truly appreciating the fact that the entire 12th Man stood behind him during what had to be the most trying month of his life.
 
Reenergized, refreshed and ready to get back on the field, all Manziel did was put together a sophomore season that, in many ways, matched or even exceeded his Heisman Trophy-winning 2012 campaign. While the signature win wasn’t there (a capable defense held the Ags back in heartbreaking losses to Alabama and Auburn), Johnny was once again the most exciting, productive and clutch performer in the game.

There were the incredible 500-yard games against the Tide and Tigers, unforgettable Manziel-led comebacks versus Ole Miss and Duke and, as most suspected at the time, what turned out to be his Kyle Field goodbye during the closing moments of the win over Mississippi State. The number of memorable plays, games and moments are too many to count. They’ll be etched into the minds of Texas A&M and college football fans everywhere for years and years to come.
 
Manziel’s lasting effect on Aggie football will be just as powerful.
 
What Johnny, Kevin Sumlin and a group of talented teammates have accomplished on the field in the past two seasons should serve as a springboard to championship contention, of both the SEC and National Title variety. Thanks to the platform that Johnny Football provided and last year’s unexpected 11-win season, Sumlin and the Aggies are in the midst of an unprecedented run of recruiting success, bringing in blue-chip prospects from around the country at every position. Whether it’s the nation’s No. 1 quarterback in Kyle Allen, 2013 and 2014 state No. 1’s Ricky Seals-Jones and Myles Garrett or New Orleans game-breaker Speedy Noil, the ‘JFF’ effect has completely altered the recruiting landscape in Aggieland and throughout the Lone Star State.
 
Don’t believe me? Just ask Mack Brown or Bob Stoops. Perhaps an unnamed former Texas Longhorn football star put it best last month when he told me that Manziel had done what he believed impossible: “Johnny made A&M the place to play college football in the state of Texas. He made it cool to be an Aggie.”
 
I’ve said it before and this won’t be the last time: if the Aggies win a title at any point during the upcoming four- or five-year window, someone needs to fit Manziel for a ring. Then again, I’m sure a statue at the new Kyle Field will suffice.
 
Plenty of A&M fans would have voted to begin those statue plans by the time clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve, after Johnny — who those closest to the quarterback said was as dialed in leading up to the game as he’s ever been — showed he definitely saved his best for last.

It was the perfect way for Manziel to go out. Fiery, inspiring and defiant, refusing to end his season or career with a loss, he did everything within his power to ensure that he and his teammates were celebrating another bowl victory on the Georgia Dome turf. Johnny made one ‘how in the hell did he do that?’ play after another, including an ad lib that may very well go down as his best in an A&M uniform, and, as far as meaningful snaps go, ended his A&M career with a perfectly-thrown, 44-yard touchdown pass.
 
Yes, the last throw of his brilliant two-year career was a clutch TD strike that came midway through the fourth quarter with the Ags trailing by ten and desperately needing a quick score. It should surprise no one that Manziel checked out of a run play when he looked to his left and saw Derel Walker drawing man coverage on the outside.
 
After all, Johnny has always loved doing things his way and (famously) never once apologized for living in the moment and being himself.
 
Unfortunately, with the ‘stay or go’ decision at hand, Manziel could no longer have his cake and eat it too. It was one or the other: enjoy one more year at A&M or take his talents to the National Football League. While it’s safe to assume that Johnny knew what he needed to do and was going to do for quite a while, delaying the inevitable announcement as long as he did — Manziel didn’t budge when asked leading up or after the Chick-fil-A Bowl or even when pressed during Monday night’s BCS title game in front of the entire college football public — was probably his way of living in both worlds for as long as he could.
 
Because of his respect for A&M, his coaches and his teammates, plus his heartfelt connection with the 12th Man, the best player to ever wear an Aggie uniform wanted to make sure he announced things the right way. His way.
 
The last time I talked to Johnny Manziel following one of his games as Texas A&M’s starting quarterback was last Wednesday in Atlanta.  His first question?
 
“Do you think that was one of the greatest A&M games ever?”
 
“Without question,” I said.
 
“Did you ever think it was possible?” he asked. I replied with a question of my own.
 
“The comeback, or everything?”
 
“Everything.”
 
“Nope,” I said. “Can you even believe it yourself?”
 
Manziel smiled, looked down at his phone and began texting. As everyone knows, he likes to keep people guessing.
 
My guess? Even though he came in thinking big, not even Johnny Football himself could have envisioned things playing out the way they did.