12th Man QB Previews Johnny Manziel: "I'm Your Huckleberry"

So now we have allegations of Autographs-For-Hire, a preemptive strike by the  NCAA/ESPN team on the bullet-riddled body and psyche of Aggie quarterback Johnny  Manziel. Texas A&M predictably and decisively responded, “No comment,”  instead of vehemently defending this young man, though the school may, perhaps,  still be traumatized by the recent loss of yet another outstanding young man on  the football team to a tragic accident.

 We learned Monday evening A&M has now gone out and hired an Alabama law  firm to defend its property and, hopefully, prepare a lawsuit for  defamation.

Yes, you’re right; there’s already one lawsuit that’s  ongoing against the NCAA pertaining to the use of college athletes’ names and  likenesses, headed by former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon. It includes  all-time greats Oscar Robertson and Bill Russell, and now six current athletes  have joined in on the fun. Class-action, anyone? Johnny, there’s still a spot  being held for you at the head table, but there’s probably not a vengeful bone  in your body that I’ve seen anyway…unless it’s to kill a golf club.

 But this article isn’t an attack on the NCAA or ESPN, only on the people  representing them. We know that good people also work in the IRS; you just don’t  know who they are, specifically. No, this article is more along the lines of a  Doc Holliday rather than a Johnny Ringo.

 This AMATEUR athlete, under no contractual obligation whatsoever, brings in  thousands of dollars – at the school’s bequest – either through his personal  presence at a sold-out $20,000 dinner table, or via autographed memorabilia  strategically stored away and ready to be sold for $15K, anytime and anywhere it  is called upon. But hey, colleges can’t legally profit off a player’s likeness, right? No, this can only be done at official functions, such as Coach’s nights,  Quarterback Club Meetings, team dinners, scheduled personal appearances, etc.  How perfectly appropriate, as long as no royalties are paid for No. 2 jerseys.  No, we don’t do that!

Until the NCAA and its ESPN snipers’ forensic team find any actual grease on  the palms of the slickest dude in college football history, I think this little  file that’s been laying in somebody’s drawer for months, to be revealed on the  actual day the Aggies reported for camp, should be slipped quietly back into its  drawer, uh, picture and all. Thus far, it’s no more than a hack attack in both  journalism and judgment.

 I can’t wait to find out what they already have stored up for Coach Sumlin  and the Aggies on, say, the next signing date. That should be very interesting,  indeed. Timing is crucial in the Sports Media bidness,  and after all the huffing and puffing to blow the house down, the only entities  to flinch were the gambling organizations, which took everything off the board  with the names of Manziel or Texas A&M on them. Shrewd move. Inside trading,  perhaps?

 I’ve also recently read several takes on a piece from Wright Thompson of  ESPN, and the accompanying comments were fairly entertaining – if  not sorta hard to stomach. His article snaps off action shots of the Manziel  existence for what could pass as reality TV. It doesn’t come off quite as well  as, say, Duck Dynasty, but it does open some eyes to the compulsory dysfunction  that all Americans seem attracted to. Like flying insects speeding merrily to a  neon light, Americans love their troubled ones and are frenetically abuzz  amongst themselves upon landing.

 My beef with Thompson’s article is that once he discovered what was going on  behind the scenes, why didn’t he also drive down to San Antonio to speak with  Johnny’s high school coach, Mark Smith, a friend of mine for 30 years? I’d like to know what Johnny’s exceptional “will to win” trait earned him and his team –  or cost them – during his playing days in Kerrville.

 Then after allowing this sports journalist a free pass into their lives, the Manziels must have been shocked to see Thompson in an interview on ESPN say,  “Manziel can be an idiot.” Think about this for a moment. How many were cheering  this statement? Think about the Manziels, who may have considered it just  another betrayal of trust. Later Tim Brando, a fellow Louisianian who I had the  pleasure of listening to at the Ole Miss Quarterback Club Kickoff this past  week, commented on his radio show that some people are just better off without  parents, implying Johnny’s worst enemies may be his own Mom and Dad. And on it  goes.

 As a four-year starter at A&M at the quarterback position, back when our  teams began “building the brand” ( a 50%  increase in stadium capacity  immediately following our era IS “brand building”), I’m one who sees LEADERSHIP in anger. It’s part of  football, although many with no quarterbacking experience may not see the  productivity potential of such anger in leadership. Sorry folks; it’s a  requisite in football to have a unique passion that overflows on occasion into  frustration when wanting to get something accomplished or corrected. How many  times have we seen a QB showing frustration with a teammate as the cameras zoom in and thought, “Oh man, this guy’s a jerk.” No, he’s not. He is a coach on the  field, and this is how coaches are wired to react. If this is tough to watch, go  find yourself some tennis.

 This is Johnny’s shield and, unfortunately, his Achilles heel, simply because  people do not understand the correlation between the two. When you lead a  football team trained to crush the opposition physically, mentally and  emotionally, you comprehend the concept. It comes naturally for the great ones who know tact is its only moderator. Weak minds can’t do this. Tolerant minds can’t do this. Only minds with a vision and an untamed intensity level can do  this. Johnny sees and feels things differently than any football player before  him. Remember “Magic Eye” from the 80s? He’s got it read before you’ve even  glanced down.

 There’s either an offense or a defense with Johnny Manziel, as his polarizing effect on folks has reached new heights. Let’s see; he has been labeled by his  Dad as having anger issues because he’s a perfectionist. Hey, I’ve been on a  golf course with former top-notch college quarterbacks. That wasn’t fun, either,  as they can be somewhat irascible. Their competitive nature removes any  enjoyment of just being out on a beautiful day enjoying some countryside. My  inability to physically play the game because of a collarbone injury in college  precluded any fits of anger on my part, so I was just along for the ride.

 Johnny’s been said to deal with the pressures by drinking some cold beer.  Okay, we’ve got anger issues and a propensity for downing some cold ones.  Perhaps this sounds a little familiar to millions of Americans…mirror, mirror on  the wall. To top it off, he has audaciously celebrated his once-in-a-lifetime  accomplishment and matching talent in a manner never before done, ahem,  known to be done, in  college football history. This will brew up resentment aplenty from some and  admiration from others.

 After taking over a very talented Texas A&M football team at 17 years of  age, I know exactly where he’s coming from. In our playing days during the  mid-70s we had one team rule; no beer drinking allowed on Fridays during the  season. Eighteen was the legal drinking age. Yes, there were even those who  happily contributed to my juvenile delinquency and I never even considered  carrying a fake ID. Seriously, that was the rule. No beer on the day before the  game. Sometimes we even had occasional beers with several of our coaches–and  also had the first back-to-back 10-win seasons in the school’s history. That’s  where we learned the term “Everything in Moderation.” That WAS moderation. And  it WAS college.

 The problem arises when you leave college, but cling to the college spirits,  if you will. This is what lands most people in trouble, and for Johnny’s sake, I  hope he recognizes this sooner than later. Many individuals live with the fact  that the only truly regrettable mistakes they’ve made in life were while under  the influence of alcohol. Tebow and Manziel may be in different galaxies, but I  believe both to be good men true to themselves and their convictions. Self-image  is one thing and public perception another, while reality likely lies somewhere in between.

 Johnny now gets advice from every Tom, Dick and Sherry who can talk or type.  His own school newspaper wants him gone, and the coaching staff allegedly  revealed confidential information regarding what he thought were settled,  in-house matters. The AD publicly announced a little counseling session between  himself and the family, and, meanwhile, the coach earns a million dollar raise.  No. 2 jerseys are seen EVERYWHERE in Texas and every other spot in the WORLD  where Aggies live. Even the NCAA, itself, is currently profiting off maroon  A&M jerseys that bear the #2 on them–and sport the word “Football” on the  back.

 Meanwhile there’s a national frenzy on the part of the media–who seem to  publicly despise Johnny, but deep down love the freebies. They appear to enjoy  having the floor and flooding the airwaves with their opinions, which he has so  graciously provided them.

 Meanwhile, Johnny plays for a school that is insistent on receiving the  credit for its “brand-building” efforts, as if Texas A&M just opened its  doors a few years ago.  Former Marketeer at A&M, Jason Cook, was quoted  prior to Johnny’s Heisman night saying, “The A&M brand is BIGGER than Johnny  Manziel.”  Seriously? Why throw that out there? What happened to the credo,  “It’s amazing what can be accomplished when no one cares who gets the  credit?”

 You never know what’s going on inside the walls of an athletic department. It’s a simple fact that what you see isn’t necessarily a result of all you may  think. Cause and effect rule the game–and, though you may see the latter, you  certainly don’t always see what goes into the former. My college coach once made  derogatory comments to the media regarding my mental state. In no way would this  be allowed today. In my case, it was the coach’s way of covering up some serious  medical malfeasance that remained publicly concealed until only recently. It was  easier for him to imply I had some sort of mental issue, than explain what my  physical injuries were–and why they had been covered up.  Johnny faces similar  criticisms today. He is now a so-called “head-case” to many, and this is truly  unfortunate.

And when all a player wants to do is be on that field, then anything goes,  and he’ll sit there and take it, but he steams none-the-less. Or, perhaps, he  lets his Mom and Dad air out the family grievances so as not to endure personal  vendettas or repercussions from those for whom he works. Brilliant.

 The fact that Johnny’s parents apparently now have resentment toward A&M,  and chose to publicize it while under questioning, is easily understandable,  regardless of how we judge the content or meaning of their observations. They’ve  seen and heard many “loyal” Aggies crushing their son on the radio and in the  forums, and they worry about a coming explosion or pending catastrophe, as any  parent would. Pressure.

 From my own personal experience with this sort of external and internal  treatment, I have no doubt Johnny Football will come in with the Eye of the  Tiger demanding excellence, and everyone had better look out. If you think John  Elway was tough on his teammates, you ain’t seen nothing yet. What everyone  forgets is, Johnny owns  this rodeo and everything in it. If he offends a few guys, they’ll need to learn  to live with it because there is no room for error. If a receiver can’t escape a  defender, then get the guy off the field; he’s no good to me. If a guy can’t  remember his assignments, then get him off the field too. Everybody who’s gonna play FOR Johnny Manziel  better have their heads screwed on straight. I imagine his patience is running a  little thin. This is actually his Junior year for both football and education,  and ultra-talented, experienced 20 year-olds make outstanding leaders. Learning  curve? Sorry. Get lost.

 Johnny’s Number 1 ranking among returning quarterbacks in ESPN’s all-new (and  extremely righteous) QBR rating system for college quarterbacks is further proof  we’re only on the cusp of his potential. The demons apparently disappear when  the lights come on and a football is in his hand. And as someone once said,  “Sometimes the strongest among us are the ones who smile through silent pain,  cry behind closed doors, and fight battles nobody knows about.”

 Me? I can only hope he wins four Heismans and flips everyone off on his way  out the door.  But that’s just wishful thinking. Meanwhile, it’s time for Johnny  Football to be getting in some target practice of his own.

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