Johnny Manziel Wants You To Chill Out
Johnny Football is sick of people picking on Johnny Football.
In December 2012 Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel became the first freshman ever to win the coveted Heisman Trophy, which recognizes the most outstanding player in college football each season.
The 5,116 total yards he passed and rushed for last season was a record setting mark for a freshman and was the ninth most yards gained in a single season in NCAA history.
For awhile it seemed as if Manziel could do no wrong. The partying he did early in the year was mostly excused as the minor indiscretions of a young man—typical college behavior. But after a summer of relatively minor missteps, all of a sudden, it seems this kid can do no right.
Manziel has reached a tipping point in his popularity. He’s become so popular and in-demand that any story about him is going to relentlessly pursued because of the public’s thirst for all things Johnny Football. Which means he’s basically a massive walking target for the media and that there’s no such thing as a “minor” event in his life anymore.
His off-season of seemingly endless shenanigans has been well documented. Manziel made headlines early in the year when it was reported that he rarely went to class, preferring to take his classes online. It wasn’t really a big deal, but it started to paint the picture of him as an entitled jock who thinks he’s above the rules.
And he hasn’t done much to change that perception.
In June Manziel was widely criticized for dissing College Station on Twitter. He tweeted that he “can’t wait” to get out of school and although the tweet was quickly deleted, the damage had already been done. Recently he pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge stemming from an incident at a bar in 2012 in which he refused to identify himself to a police officer.
An incident that occurred over the weekend really seems to have changed the tone on Manziel coverage. It was reported that he was asked to leave the Manning Passing Academy, a camp for high school prospects held by Archie Manning and sons Peyton and Eli.
The official story told by Manziel, and not disputed by the brothers Manning, is that he had missed a few activities because he had overslept and that leaving was a “mutual decision” reached because he was feeling ill. However, there are still some questions as to what, exactly, went down.
Manziel was seen out partying and drinking the night before, but insisted that a hangover had nothing to do with his mystery illness or sudden departure.
Today at SEC Media Day, Manziel addressed both his absence from the Manning Passing Academy, as well as many of the other stories that have been dogging him lately. Unfortunately he did it with that trademark smarmy grin of his. Said Manziel: “This is just another day … I don’t feel like I’ve done anything that’s catastrophic … Of course I’ve made my mistakes … It’s time to grow up.”
He outright denied that he had been “kicked out” of Manning Camp and said that most of his activities have been “blown out of proportion.” Manziel added: “My off-season, all the stuff’s that’s gone on will have no effect on this season … I’m ready to stop. No more talk after this. Let’s play football.”
By and large people are still rooting for Johnny Football, so if he’s serious about getting serious, the public is going to be quick to forgive—as long as he delivers on the field this season. But Manziel has definitely lost the benefit of the doubt at this point, which means he really needs to tone it down if he wants to be considered a top prospect going into the 2014 NFL Draft.
