John David Crow excited to share Heisman spotlight with Manziel

Notes from John David Crow interview

* First and foremost, praise for all the accomplishments this season should be given to the coaches because they are the ones that have guided this and made it all happen. Football is a team sport, not only on the field but off the field as well, and Coach Sumlin and his staff deserve a lot of credit. He is very pleased and proud to hear the way Manziel talked in his teleconference. That meeting with the media only confirmed his belief that Manziel is a genuine young man.

* One day, the president of Texas A&M called him and he thought he was in trouble. All he wanted to do was go back to school, get his degree and find a good job somewhere, so he was relieved when he found out that the call was to congratulate him on being selected as a Heisman finalist instead of telling him he had done something wrong. The day he won the award was a very big day, but nowhere near what it is today.

* He didn’t know that he was going to win the trophy when he went to New York, and it wasn’t until he was there that the winner was announced. The announcement came between the Bob Hope and Ed Sullivan shows, but the award didn’t have the national presence that it does today.

* At the time he didn’t know much about the award or his competition, and all he was trying to do was play his best for his team each week. He would face his closest competition, Alex Karras from Iowa, on a regular basis in the NFL, but the two never really talked about the 1957 Heisman race.

* Once he received his Heisman trophy from the Downtown Athletic Club, they asked him whether he wanted to keep it or have it shipped back to College Station. He replied, “I think I’ll just take it with me, y’all might change your mind.” He carried the trophy onto the airplane back to Dallas with him and then gave it to his parents to take home before bringing it back to College Station.

* He is so proud of the A&M football program and Manziel for the outstanding season they have had. Everything about this year has been very pleasing.

* He has not cast his Heisman vote yet, but all that needs to be said is that he is an Aggie and he loves Texas A&M University. He had no idea how much it meant to be an Aggie when he came down for the first time, but he has learned through the years and cherishes all of his time in College Station.

* Everything that will happen for the rest of the season is because of things that have happened in the past, and because of that, he doesn’t believe that the future needs to be looked at yet. After Manziel comes back from New York, hopefully the team will be able to start preparing for the next game. Manziel has won the trophy, and that should be celebrated from now on. He doesn’t believe that being a freshman has anything to do with winning or not winning the award, and rather that the award is based on the most outstanding player in a given year. He doesn’t know how anyone could say anything other than that Manziel deserves the award.