![]() Second Quarter Action of 2012 We found out on Monday night from former Heisman Trophy winner and native Texan Ty Detmer that Johnny’s going up against two seniors as a “freshman” with three seasons of eligibility remaining. No other underclassmen are even close in the voting, or they’d have been invited. Barring something unforeseen happening, Johnny is ‘college football’ for the next three seasons. Then again, he was ‘college football’ this season. Pop a top on this one. If he comes up short, imagine the fire we’ll see in his eyes; well, maybe not, but it’ll darn sure be there underneath the surface. At some point in every player’s career, he or she realizes their true value. Johnny knows his. Whatever the outcome, Johnny Football will be smiling. The “Instant Replay” continues as I follow game-by-game the exploits of Johnny Football as seen through the eyes of the youngest quarterback to step on a college field (at our own one yard-line inside Kyle, by the way.) This was truly an inspirational year for Aggies and football fans everywhere. You’ve read about the pre-season and the first two games, and in our second edition we delve a little further into the excellent leadership and quarterbacking skills this young man exhibits, still so early in his career. I closed the last article by commenting after the SMU game that Johnny Manziel was the phenom the Aggies had long been waiting for. Just as Johnny’s season remains a standard for the ages in the SEC and college football, the words here remain constant and unchanged from the original. Here’s more of the story. Post-Game Read for South Carolina State The Aggies are currently ranked 11th nationally in scoring, 12th in points allowed and 13th in yards allowed per game. Even with all the fireworks the Ags have been displaying of late, they only rank 37th nationally in total offense. Perhaps the other 36 teams have played even daintier light-weights than the Aggies have, or perhaps haven’t pulled their starters as quickly. Or haven’t played Florida. Regardless, most stats this early in the season are for old men sitting around drinking coffee in the early morning, somewhat similar to national polls. Everything else statistically should go into the ‘on hold’ file waiting for further evidence, with one primary exception: Johnny Manziel is a slick, trigger-happy madman who has yet to see his first interception or lost fumble. This is truly a rare accomplishment considering the number of opportunities he gets handling the football while orchestrating the jet stream offense of the Southeastern Conference. His vision alone would probably set records in contests involving the Magic Eye 3D images of the 90’s. He sees things others can’t in a fraction of the time. His running and passing thus far have provided the Aggies with 7.3 yards per play. In the other 100 plays void of his direct involvement, they have averaged 4.85. Hey, all good for sure, but I think you know where I’m coming from. This guy can do it all. I predict there will soon be an enormous trend among the young kids in Texas to ask their coaches for the No. 2 jersey for years to come. The Aggies have a real shot at being 5-1 overall and 2-1 in conference when LSU hits town Oct. 20. Should LSU continue to find its patented escape routes as the season progresses, that day could be a momentous one for the SEC and both institutions. This Saturday’s game marks the spot. Post-Game Read for Arkansas The young man leading the charge is here among us. He’s the one you weren’t sure about when you first saw him play. You remember, right? After the first few series of action netted 17 points for the home team, he seemed too good to fail, yet that day he did. Regardless, he seemed to have a “dazzleability” separating him from anyone who had ever been under center on Kyle Field. “Ever” is a lot of history to backtrack on. It’s not that these individuals were necessarily slower, or didn’t have the pinpoint accuracy, or strength of arm, or a hundred other intangibles necessary to man the position. No, this guy was just different, period, and it’s kind of hard to nail it down. He’s like the silver ball in the old-time pinball machines. He didn’t look all that big physically, but he seemed extraordinarily gutsy for such a rookie, faking pitches to imaginary running backs as he sprinted down field full-steam ahead. Somehow he had boldness and daring that were never betrayed, and an unbridled recklessness that bore not a single fault. “His style of play will be his downfall,” you said. “Too much run and not enough gun.” You’d have to take in another performance of his, or two, or maybe even three, just to be sure this young man deserved the moniker of “special.” Your eyes have yet to betray you, friend. Just as sure as the sun will rise in the morning, the football gods have judged that now is your time and he is your Gladiator. Sure, this young man seemingly came out of nowhere, somehow unheralded because of the star that played in front of him for a season, the one whose single-game passing record he already owns. During this “down” time he was busy taking it all in, studying how to attack defenses and getting his feet on the ground, biding his time and eying the competition. The coaching decision to sit him out his first year was undeniably the correct one. There would be no pressure to win and carry a team on his shoulders quite yet, and as a rule, third-teamers are normally not called upon for active duty. Even after spring training, he hadn’t risen above the shoreline, but once the money was placed, his name was called with total conviction. That name was Johnny Manziel. Johnny is going places and taking us with him for the ride. The swiftness of his arrival matches only the coolness coming from underneath the No. 2 jersey we’ve watched zinging and flinging recently. The music he shares has the artistry and brilliance of a Bach, Beethoven or a Beatle, and the calmness of a smooth mountain lake just before sundown. For the first time in years, decades, perhaps ever, we have standing before us the epitome of spontaneity, splendidly functioning within an offensive system inspired by the ideals of absolute freedom. It is the creation of a discipline as intricate in design as any that will ever be devised, with its outer limits approached only in proper doses. Where Johnny goes comfortably, this system will follow. This is as it should be. This is how you don’t screw him up. Soul cleansing was what this particular rain was all about. Wash away your troubles; wash away your shame. By the time the rain had finished its work, the Aggies had slaughtered the dumbfounded Hogs in a manner only Alabama would understand. When it began pouring down the hardest in the third quarter, the coaches responded by emptying the backfield of running backs and going five-wide. Next, they had Johnny start throwing completion after completion in fast-motion with that slippery wet football all the way down the field. Now that is cocky. The weather doesn’t dictate to us. We dictate, no matter what. Do we call this the Honey Badger Offense? Hey, if you don’t love cocky, you just might be in the wrong building. Did you hear the announcers saying the Aggies should let up some near the end? Are you kidding us? Embrace it. The 58 points scored by the Aggies are the most ever scored in the series covering 69 games. One can only imagine what the score could have been had the Aggies not failed to convert on 8 of their 12 third-downs. Regardless, all told the Aggies amassed 32 first downs and 717 yards, the third-highest yards total in school history. Manziel passed for a school record 453 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score while adding 104 yards on 14 carries. He has now thrown for 10 touchdowns without an interception and has another six scores on the ground. Johnny averaged 10.7 yards per play when running or passing against Arkansas. This is an astounding number when considering the number of plays he was involved in. He is now up to 8.3 yards per play for the season. Bo Wallace of Mississippi in comparison averages 6.13. Now to the individual hardware: Johnny’s 557 total yards broke the SEC record of 540 previously held by Archie Manning of Mississippi vs. Alabama in 1969 and Rohan Davey of LSU vs. Alabama in 2001. As a result, Manziel was named SEC Offensive Player of the Week and offensive tackle Jake Matthews was named SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week, for good measure. Manziel’s NCAA Quarterback Rating (170.9) is now ranked 10th in the country and third in the SEC, behind Aaron Murray of Georgia (3rd) and Alabama’s A. J. McCarron (7th), both Heisman Trophy candidates. A&M ranks 12th in total offense per game in the NCAA and second in the SEC behind Georgia (11th). My recommendation to the current Ole Miss staff would be to pull out some old film from the Manning era and see how the other SEC teams tried to stop him. Manziel is every bit the double threat that Manning was and also does some of his finest work while scrambling to the corners. Each threw equally well going to his left, or to his right, and both were tough to bring down. The great thing now is, we’re not in that Aggie Wishbone! Go, Johnny, Go!! [Heisman Trophy voter Mike Huguenin explains why Johnny Manziel should take home the Trophy as a redshirt freshman] Post-Game Read for Mississippi Former SEC Offensive Player of the Week, Johnny “No Fail” Manziel, hadn’t shown the Midas touch for the first three-plus quarters. Sure, he’d broken a few nice runs and hit a few throws, but Ole Miss was proving too quick and forceful up front for the “Who Dat’ Kid” to rise above this particular fray. He hadn’t been around long enough in this league to know it isn’t far from the penthouse to the outhouse. Heck, this “Johnny Come Lately” hadn’t even played outside of the state of Texas in his entire life — No worries here. Running back Ben Malena then slipped through the line for a run of 36 yards to the Ole Miss 29. From there, Manziel found another opening, and on a run that resembled a playground “two below” game, he ran somewhat untouched the necessary 29 yards for a touchdown. This culminated an official 88-yard drive that was actually one of 99.7 yards, technically speaking. Somehow the whale had spewed Johnny out of its mouth, for no particular reason; perhaps just to tease the visitors and their supporters. What fun this would be! The extra-point kick was missed, of course, and Aggies everywhere began reminding themselves once again of who they were, and once again sunk deeper into depths of despair. “Well, we are the Aggies, now aren’t we?” One minute and 16 seconds later, Ryan Swope was waving the football in the air in the end zone after he and Manziel had caught the Ole Miss secondary playing man coverage and lining up having already been beaten. Swope’s perfect corner route was complimented by the perfect throw as A&M kept its two wide receivers decoying short inside routes while sending Swope deep behind them. It was great execution at a pivotal point in the drive – and in the game. Five minutes earlier the Rebels and their fans had been reveling in their presumed victory but it was far from over. Coach Sumlin’s stun gun offense had them moaning and writhing in pain when least expected. By remaining poised, alert and confident, Manziel now trails only Alabama’s AJ McCarron in the NCAA Quarterback Rating among SEC quarterbacks and is ranked No. 12 nationally. Meanwhile, the Aggies are celebrating their first top 25 ranking as a member of the SEC, coming in at No. 23 in the A.P. and 21st in the USA Today. Seven teams from the conference are now represented in the polls. Interestingly, A&M and its next opponent, the LA Tech Bulldogs, rank 22nd and 23rd in the ESPN Power Rankings, respectively. Unfortunately, this will be the final game of the season where victory is expected right in step with offensive stats that will continue to be padded. The levels of competition, philosophies and game faces will change dramatically after the Tech game, when wins and losses become the only gauge of success and stats become secondary. The term “field position” will come back into play in huge quantities. I look forward to the tests these outstanding opportunities will present for our strategies and personnel. We’re looking forward to a hard-fought, thrilling football game this weekend. The experts predict an Aggie victory by the score of 40-32, which certainly sounds reasonable. All kinds of Texas A&M records could fall. Let’s just hope they’re all on the offensive side of the ball — stun-gun style. Next Up – Louisiana Tech
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![]() First Quarter Action I believe bias is bias, whether it’s regarding age, classification, race, university or conference affiliation, or anything else that enters into it. Any individual who publicly or secretly reveals such bias should be stripped of his or her authority immediately as a voter for the Heisman trophy. To even promote the notion of such should be considered heresy and an actual threat to the integrity of the game. Every player has just completed playing the 2012 regular season, and is, therefore, eligible to win the Heisman as a by-product of his participation. Rightly so, and the 2012 season is the onlyseason to be assessed. There is no future and there is no past in these matters. Individuals are voters only because they have earned the right to represent all of America’s football fans with their choices, with ALL past precedents and current biases pushed aside for the good of the game. Soon A&M will own not only the youngest quarterback to ever play college football in myself, but also the only “freshman” quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy in Johnny Manziel. I put quotation marks around the word “freshman” because technically Johnny is not a “freshman,” but a sophomore who will be allowed an additional senior season to play. Having personally redshirted in college, I simply felt when I was playing my final season not with with my class, but that underneath mine, I’d been extended an extra senior season. This is the difference and the separation of the two schools of thought. Johnny is a sophomore academically and will soon become a junior. In an interview with David Harris of the Bryan/College Station Eagle prior to the season, I gave this advice to the first-year starter, based on my experience as a 17-year old starting quarterback as a true freshman: “Be on top of your game,” I said. “Do not be intimidated by anything. Know you’re the best quarterback at this university and that everybody has confidence in you. Be quick and be smart. You’ll have some bad plays but remember to keep your head up.” It’s what I’ve told all my quarterbacks as a high school football coach — and I know this university. George Bush chose this university to house his library because of its integrity. So let’s talk about how all these Xs and Os come together so easily for this A&M team offensively. The West Coast offense was built on timing routes in which the quarterback took a five-step drop and released the football. Boom, it had to be gone right now! Plant and throw! I always felt the quarterback on a five-step drop was too close to the onrushing linemen to successfully make the necessary underneath throws in this ‘nickel and dime’ offense. Throwing lanes are difficult to find with such close proximity. The shotgun formation automatically negates this problem completely, which is why I went to it in 1989 with the Memorial High School football team I was coaching in Houston. While “hot routes” are best thrown on a three-step drop from under center, because they’re quicker-breaking routes, the shotgun resolves the problem of having smaller quarterbacks operating the quick passing game without the effort involved in physically making the sprint seven yards deep and cutting it loose. On most five-step drops your receivers are on nine-step routes, at least in college and high school, and a five-step drop into the pocket will get the quarterback approximately seven yards deep. This was the drop-back passing game we had in my days at A&M, but my high school coach had me going nine steps back in our high school offense. That is 12 to 13 yards deep. Yes! I once questioned the five-step drop that the Houston Texans were using in their early years of operation and had myself quoted in the Houston Chronicle. That night the Texans lost miserably in a preseason game, and the five-step drop did them in with several interceptions thrown under pressure. The radio talk shows were ablaze with why the Texans were using this system that obviously was allowing too much pressure on their quarterback, David Carr. Several weeks later the team’soffensive coordinator was let go, partly because of the public outrage and the obvious problems the five-step drop caused this particular quarterback. I was accustomed to watching that nine-step drop of Namath’s and it seemed to work extremely well. You may remember the Cowboys and Roger Staubach in the ’70’s using the shotgun formation extensively because it freed up the quarterback in so many ways. I’m sure many thought a little less of Dallas coach Tom Landry for going with this “gimmicky” offense, even as he was taking his teams to Super Bowls. But, so what if “real man” football now looks more like a two-below game going on ‘helter-skelter’ in the back yard? ‘Look what they’ve done to my game, Ma,’ cries Alabama’s Nick Sabin. This system is smarter and much more efficient and demands top-flight conditioning from the big boys up front. It’s fast and has no regard for the noise level of a hostile crowd. It’s streamlined to the point of not even needing an official playbook, just as Bear Bryant streamlined the Wishbone by deleting the triple option and thus never using a playbook either. And now we’ve been introduced to the true master of the ‘Sumlin Stun Gun’ offense run from the shotgun formation now being implemented so successfully by the Aggies. Johnny Football doesn’t mess with the Zone Read play, which had always been the core of any spread offense. He does what he does in other ways, some predetermined, and many others — not so much. But there is something else this young man is doing. He is redefining the qualities and abilities coaches will be looking for in a quarterback from here on. Some quarterbacks stereotype themselves into being in the same mold as the professional guys; those kinds of guys who don’t run much, stand in the pocket and throw a football. Ho hum. The days of ‘quarterback sneaks’ leading the way with the likes of Bart Starr and Johnny Unitus are long gone. You’d better become an ATHLETE if you wanna play. Don’t be lazy and don’t be a dummy, young guy. Now-a-days, these aspiring quarterbacks had better be thinking about speed and quickness and becoming a cottontail rabbit out on that football field. Speed, quickness and endurance need to be part of your repertoire. If you assume your arm alone is going to get you a job, there may be a little Johnny Football who shows up who gums up the works for you. Personally, as I described in my book, I worked extremely hard in high school increasing my speed and quickness. It was imperative I become an all-around threat, which obviously was the key in taking over a Wishbone triple option offense in college at 17 years of age and becoming A&M’s first Freshman of the Year. Now, let’s replay this season game-by-game as Johnny became Johnny Football and then finally became, we hope and expect, Johnny Heisman. These are verbatim observations of the young outstanding quarterback as seen through the eyes of the youngest quarterback to ever play, and I’m proud to say the Maroon and White lineage we share is both exciting and rewarding. I hope you’ll enjoy. Gig’ Em! Pre-Game Read for the Florida Gators Our starting quarterback now is a young man from Kerrville, Texas who the Aggie Press Machine is raging about as the first “freshman” to start a season opener for A&M since 1944. But here’s a couple of things they don’t tell you. Johnny Manziel spent all of last year going to classes, practices, team meetings, doing film study, going through spring drills, playing understudy to the No. 8-overall NFL draft pick and has been through two sets of two-a-days. Freshman? Hardly. He’s a guy who gets to play two senior seasons, the way I look at it. I know because I also red-shirted; only it was my third year — and I got to play two senior seasons as well. That’s how it works. What I’m saying is, you can throw out the redshirt tag. Johnny is a second-year player with a wealth of knowledge that is readily accessible and stored up ready-to-go on the college game. He is equipped with a whole lot of valuable mental experience and great talent. If he turns this game into a “practice” mentally and gets into the zone that he needs to be in, he has the tools to be a real class act. So let’s just call him a sophomore with no actual playing experience, sort of like what we called all players between the years of 1946 to 1972, the time period that freshmen were not allowed to play varsity football after World War II. I know– how old-school! Remember when girls could only play half-court in basketball? Very similar thinking. But just for grins, let’s allow the Ags’ publicists to call it the way they spin it. After all, it’s their program they have to sell even though this game doesn’t need selling. Just don’t be expecting a timid kid with no background or clue showing up all wide-eyed and scared at the prospects of leading his team in front of a sold-out crowd and national TV audience. Bradshaw, Bert Jones, Joe Ferguson, Joe Namath, Spurrier, Stabler; they were all quite good after not “playing” in their first year of college. Post Game Read for the Florida Gators As I stated last week when I reintroduced myself to the Gator Nation via Florida Gators Gamedayr, I now am the only A&M quarterback who has ever beaten the University of Florida. Of course, with A&M’s 1-2 overall record against UF, this isn’t saying a whole lot but I stand by it, as far as bragging rights are concerned. The most recent A&M QB to have this opportunity, Johnny Manziel, looked to me like the fastest quarterback this school has seen since the Texas high school high-hurdle champion who succeeded me in the late ’70s, Mike Mosley. Unfortunately, none of us average-Joe onlookers will get the opportunity to know Johnny Manziel until next spring because Coach Sumlin has standing orders that freshmen are off-limits to the media. I guess this also includes ‘Redshirt’ freshmen, since this is what Manziel actually is – a sophomore academically but a “rookie” to be seen but not heard, otherwise. The obvious question is how does this band of coaches go from having the highest scoring team in the land one year to not being able to pick up a handful of first downs the next? Not a single second half play was run in Florida territory. Very disturbing stuff, one might say. Unless the QB was making a ton of misreads which I personally didn’t see, then finding the proper play calls to win a three-point game escaped the offensive staff, pure and simple. This past Saturday night’s realization was a rather somber enlightenment with which to open a brand new season, especially for this newly-inspired and highly boisterous crowd that rolled in, a crowd faced with many dissenters around the state and even within its new conference, wishing it nothing but failure. Step one, accomplished with amazing predictability. Post Game Read for Southern Methodist Fortunately what we also saw here, unlike during the second half of the opener against the Florida Gators, was a team that was making some necessary offensive adjustments while the defense was impressively holding the Mustangs in check. This “warm-up” period allowed the offense, with redshirt freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel settling in firmly at the controls, to begin ripping apart these eight-game winners from 2011 with a wonderful combination of quick jabs, left hooks and fancy footwork that took SMU totally out of the game on both sides of the ball from the second quarter on. SMU’s defense had a nice game going by keeping Manziel and the A&M offense somewhat off balance for almost a quarter and a half before becoming a little too predictable. The five-man front had kept sufficient pressure on both A&M passing and running games and allowed only the occasional completion to redshirt freshman wide receiver Mike Evans, normally aligned opposite the three-receiver side of the A&M shotgun spread formation. Because of the rush, quarterback Manziel was forced to scramble on several occasions and the normal running game was providing little support. With less than nine minutes to go in the second quarter, Manziel looked up to find veteran slot receiver Ryan Swope “uncovered” to his right side by anyone underneath. For most offenses, this is a pre-snap “hot read” which turned into exactly that on this play. On this second-and-eight situation, the SMU defense brought both linebackers, its left defensive end, nose tackle and a defensive five-technique (tackle) from the right side. A&M was set up in a balanced one-back formation with two receivers split to each side, catching the defense in a cover 2, a popular coverage with two deep safeties and each cornerback aligned tightly on his respective wide receivers. The backside defensive end dropped into coverage while the play-side defensive tackle, with his side’s defensive end blitzing, rose out of his four–point stance to try to retreat back into coverage, hopefully into the passing lane between Manziel and the slot receiver, Swope. This “coverage swap” approach employed by the SMU staff, commonly referred to as a zone blitz, had worked earlier for the Mustangs resulting in some behind-the-line tackles and confusion in the Aggies’ blocking assignments. This time, however, the defensive tackle saw only the football zipping by his head as Swope ran a quick post pattern and caught the perfect throw, then targeted a spot that would split both safeties as he went into the end zone standing up. Junior offensive tackle Jake Matthews did an outstanding job of recognizing the swap and swiftly picked up the defensive end before being outflanked instead of the tackle he’d originally been assigned. Offenses, such as A&M’s, love gifts and when they are offered on silver platters via pre-snap misalignments such as this one, they gobble them up without even a “thank you.” The lesson to be learned here is that Ryan Swope cannot be covered by defensive tackles or headed off at the pass by unassuming defensive safeties who get caught flat-footed. Any defensive player must be cognizant of one indisputable fact: if a player lines up on a D-1 football field, he can beat you. Leading 7-0 after an SMU three-and-out on first down from the SMU 48, Johnny Manziel tucked the ball away in his left arm (as he always does) on a scramble through the left side, scooting past a defensive lineman who’d been hurled to the ground by offensive tackle Luke Joeckel. Manziel then sped by pursuing linebackers, juked another defender and went untouched into the end zone. When I played at A&M and was running the Wishbone, you never saw me carrying the ball in my right arm either. Regardless of what the coaches said about having it in the arm away from the defender, I believed it much more important to always have the ball in my strongest arm. Perhaps Johnny has this same belief, although he throws the football right-handed. Whatever the case, he was only getting warmed up. Next, he completed a 78-yard drive after an A&M interception by hitting Uzoma Nwachukwu with a 36-yarder after rolling out of the pocket to his right and throwing down the middle of the field to his veteran receiver. This was a perfectly executed “scramble drill” which requires a great amount of practice time. The appearance of improvisation doesn’t make it a reality. The Aggies had just scored two touchdowns within two and a half minutes and suddenly held a 20-0 lead at the half. Strike up the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band! Johnny Manziel reminds me of another college quarterback who was a little smaller of stature and wore two number 2’s on his jersey, a guy named Doug Flutie. Manziel only got better in the third quarter, acrobatically whirling around and pin-pointing a touchdown pass that no one else on the planet would have even attempted, primarily because they’d probably have taken the sack or said, “The hell with it,” and thrown it away. Johnny delivered. He set a Texas A&M single-game freshman record by passing for 294 yards (breaking Kevin Murray’s 29 year-old record of 280 set against Rice) and accounted for six touchdowns — four through the air and two on the ground. That’s right, and he also ran for 124 yards. Just like in the song, the boy said, “My name’s Johnny and it might be a sin, but I’ll take your bet, you’re gonna regret, cuz I’m the best there’s ever been.” Could be. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9y2jtwS3SsI&w=420&h=315] Only time will tell, and there will be a lot of armchair quarterbacking going on trying to get into his head. I say, “Let him be and don’t screw him up.” Ol’ Johnny might be the phenom A&M has been waiting for, and all the wondrous things that phenoms bring with them could soon be within the Aggies’ grasp. Next up for the Aggies isn’t South Carolina, but South Carolina State, a team that lost to Arizona last week, 56-0. Arizona had 43 first downs while South Carolina State had 8. Arizona had 689 yards of offense, while South Carolina State had 154. Arizona punted only once. And as they say, the rest was history. ![]() Rarely will you find defensive players who can possibly fill the bill for winning a Heisman Trophy. This has been proven annually throughout the history of college football. Today I’ve brought along a few All-Americans from Aggieland who were with me in the Seventies. Why the Seventies? It’s when the game changed forever. Right after the Jets won Super Bowl III in 1969, the lights also came on with the college football scene. Each of these guys I’ll introduce had wonderfully exciting credentials that, if we’d had any real street cred in those days, could have had cases made for them for winning a Heisman. Let’s start with middle linebacker Robert Jackson, who was a consensus All-American as a senior in 1976 and a finalist for the Lombardi Award. Robert led the team in tackles with 143 while sitting out the season finale against Texas. He also led the Aggies to two bowl games and the first consecutive 10-win seasons in A&M history. He was the Front Seven catalyst for the “Mad Dog” Defense that led the nation in both total defense and rushing defense in 1975, while the team ranked No. 4 nationally in total defense in 1976. We played only D-1 schools, by the way. Robert was a first-round draft pick of the Cleveland Browns in 1977. I don’t want to mention any names here, but there’s a linebacker wearing Blue and Gold (and sometimes Green) who is up for the Heisman this year. In 12 games he has 103 tackles. Sure, he has another game to play, but we’re still looking for a track record even close to what our very own Robert Jackson had. How about the tremendous defensive back, Lester Hayes? Lester the Molester earned All-American laurels as a senior in 1976 after intercepting eight passes and breaking up six others while leading A&M to a No. 7 A.P. national ranking. He picked off three in his final game against Texas. Lester’s 14 career interceptions were an all-time school record and currently rank him second in A&M history. A&M led the Southwest Conference in total defense throughout his career and ranked in the top four nationally from 1974-76. Lester also played in a couple of Super Bowls and was known as Mr. Stickem while with the Oakland Raiders. Linebacker Ed Simonini was a consensus All-American choice as a senior in 1975 after being selected the Southwest Conference’s defensive player of the year. A three-time All-SWC pick, Simonini led the team in tackles for three straight years while compiling 425 career stops. His 98 tackles recorded in 1972 is still a freshman record at A&M. The Aggies led the nation in total defense in 1975 and finished the year with a 10-2 record. Defensive back Pat Thomas was named All-American as a junior in 1974 and a consensus All-American as a senior in 1975. Pat intercepted three passes as a senior after picking off six as a junior. His 13 career interceptions ranked him first at the time and he is still third in A&M history. Linebacker Garth Ten Napel was an All-American pick as a senior in 1975 after helping the Aggies lead the nation in total defense by allowing just 183.8 yards per game. These are just a few of the outstanding players who played for the all-time greatest defense in Aggieland’s history coached by Melvin “Mad Dog” Robertson. I’d have to wonder where any of them ranked in the Heisman Trophy balloting, owever. Please remember, freshmen were only allowed to begin playing at the “Varsity” level in the season of 1972 when I was a senior in high school. The Heisman Trophy had been awarded for years and always went to quarterbacks or running backs. Defensive players didn’t really figure in the equation and neither did freshmen, although their eligibility to participate was never questioned. I’m sure the “thinking” was it would be ‘sacrilegious’ to allow freshmen to play and then suddenly hand a Heisman Trophy over to one of them. What would that do to the integrity of the game? Hey, let’s look on the defensive side of the ball! No, this wouldn’t be good. Perhaps freshmen should just be glad to step on the field with the “big boys,” possibly even start, and rarely would you find one who was a first or second team All-Conference pick – or, perish the thought, All-Americans. Surely you jest. These were the days when African-American players were first beginning to join some major college football teams. This was when FOOTBALL went MODERN. Leather helmets were gone, mouthpieces were in, players were speed demons and games were filmed from the press boxes in color. TV games were in color. ESPN wasn’t around yet and neither was USA Today, and local print media was still the primary vehicle for getting your Heisman campaigns going. As a rule, A&M never pushed anyone for the Heisman and Notre Dame never played in bowl games — it’s just the way things were. Every now and then you could catch an O.J. Simpson or a Joe Theisman on a Saturday afternoon, but these sightings were rare. I hardly ever saw Archie Griffin of Ohio State play and he won two Heisman trophies. If a team was lucky and good, it might play a couple of regionally-telecast games a year and if it was REALLY good, it would get to play on national TV once or twice a year. We were good enough to get these calls and a couple of times even changed scheduled dates for season finales to be played after the traditional Thanksgiving Game with Texas. These were agreed to in order to set up what the TV execs thought would be winner-take-all scenarios. This was exactly what happened when we all watched Texas and Arkansas play in the 1969 Big Shootout and also when the country watched A&M take an Agg-Whippin’ over in Little Rock in ‘75. Earlier in my career I’d been voted by the coaches the first U.P.I. Southwest Conference Offensive Freshman of the Year for Texas A&M in 1973. I was 17 throughout the season and didn’t turn 18 until the Christmas Holidays. I figured my best days were ahead of me. It was the last media award I would win until my ‘redshirt’ senior season when I was given an SWC Offensive Player of the Week Award after a 37-21 comeback victory over SMU. I rushed for 182 yards which is still an all-time record for a quarterback at the school. You may recall that Johnny Manziel picked up 181 yards rushing against La. Tech this season, surpassing Mike Mosley by a yard but leaving me unscathed, but breathless. Whew! Of course, I was really proud of this Outstanding Player of the Week award I earned as a senior in my 31st start for the school, having played mostly in anonymity while running the triple option Wishbone attack that was in vogue back in the day. Having lost only one home game in my entire career as a starter (freshman season vs. Texas) , this was one of those “Heisman” moments for me…wait; it was THE Heisman moment for me. Now, let’s talk about this business with Johnny Football. I’ll tell you right now how tenuous a career and starting position can be. I was in the stadium Saturday night when Johnny got twisted up awkwardly during a tackle and stayed down. I was in the third deck and could have heard Reveille moaning quietly in horror on the far sidelines. It was so very silent. I mean, I watched a referee succumb to a fatal heart attack at a high school all-star game and didn’t see this kind of reaction. The collective sigh of relief when Johnny stood up and walked to the sidelines was also noticeable — and then the cheers. Johnny cannot go down, y’all. This is part of what makes this award so different and yet, so important. We have for the first time a redshirt freshman leading the charge for the Heisman. He first showed up in the betting circles the week of the LSU game after throwing 59 points up against La. Tech. Even then he was an after-thought, but still a possibility. He was on the board. In case you’re not aware, the wise guys normally recognize talent when they see it. Then the LSU game knocked him down from 12/1 to 20/1 and everyone figured he was finished. There were still 5 or 6 guys rated better than Johnny and this is when I decided not to take a trip out to the desert and take advantage of those odds. Oh me of little faith. Well, lo and behold, after traveling to Auburn and Mississippi State and blowing those guys away, he and the Aggies made their third trip in a row, this time to none other than Tuscaloosa, Alabama for a date with Godzilla himself. The Alabama quarterback was now a front-runner in the Heisman race after his great drive a week earlier that had beaten the LSU Tigers. The odds were not in Johnny’s favor but he suddenly had the Aggies ahead 20-0 before the first quarter had ended, and with a “goal line stand for the Ages” (Brent, don’t you just love that statement?) against the unflappable A.J. McCarron, they came away with possibly the most unlikely victory on the road against a No. 1 team in modern college football history. Heisman possibilities were suddenly back in gear out on the track. Still, although he is No. 2 in the USA in total offense and his football team has only been beaten by what are now the No. 4 and No. 7 teams around, Johnny was stuck behind a great kid at Kansas State who’s also a quarterback and was leading the new No. 1 team. All this QB had to do to win the trophy, being a senior and all, was win out. Then Baylor shocked K-St. and made this quarterback look rather pedestrian in the process, and BOOM; Up Flies Manziel! Up Flies Manziel! All season long it was like being on the cover of Sports Illustrated for these Heisman hopefuls, from Geno Smith to A.J. McCarron to Collin Klein, and now on to Johnny Manziel. None of them could hang. Johnny never flinched. Johnny flourished, as he has in every game since LSU, including that stretch of 5 of 6 straight games as visitors. The guy went 6-0 on the road…as a freshman! Then back inside 12th Man Stadium against Missouri, Johnny had his hands on the ball for 10 different drives and came away with 8 touchdowns and a field goal. They were long 70 and 80 yard drives, too — the kind we like here! It’s why we fair-catch punts back inside our 10 yard line! We love our length-of-the-field touchdown drives at A&M! Oh, and for the meticulous ones among us, I’m not counting the one-play kneel-down just before the half as a possession, but there are probably Heisman voters out there who are. Let’s talk a little perspective now. Johnny is 19 and turns 20 in December, just as I did when I was a JUNIOR. If someone had told me I was too YOUNG to win the Heisman as a Junior, well, I’d have asked them to show me their eligibility requirements. When I was growing up nobody could play as freshmen, but no one had a problem voting a Sophomore the Heisman Trophy. If you played, guess what; you were eligible. Johnny will be participating in his third spring training in April. He has already had two college football seasons under his belt, although like the freshmen who played when I was growing up, he sat out all the Varsity games his first year. He practiced and went to class and watched Tannehill play the games. I’m not sure when the first coach came up with the idea of redshirting freshmen but it’s a great idea if your team can afford it. In my situation at A&M I became the starter as a freshman when I proved on the field I was the best at A&M and the best freshman football player in the conference. Johnny has proven in his redshirt freshman year that he’s the best and most exciting player in the country. You can forget the statistics; just watch him play. There’s not a running back or receiver who comes close, much less a quarterback. As Charlie Daniels tweeted recently, there’s no reason a freshman shouldn’t be allowed to win it. ‘Cuz he’s the best there’s ever been…well, Charlie didn’t say that, but he’s easily the best A&M has ever seen. And we’re talking about a “linebacker” in this conversation? Really? With this linebacker’s stats, many would agree there have been hundreds ahead of him who have deserved to win the Heisman more than he does. Either way, on the night of December 8, 2012, history will be made. Five freshmen in the past have garnered enough votes to make the top 5, but there’s never been a winner. Johnny Manziel is no less than the first “redshirt” freshman to be voted into the top 5. You know, like all the SOPHOMORES who came before him. We’re just tickled to death that Johnny has an additional senior year of eligibility! There’s one more thing about this quarterback you might want to know. He has played almost 600 official minutes this season, which is the equivalent of 10 games. Time-wise, he sat out two full games (120 minutes). Most teams have a game or two where they get to sit their starters but Johnny sat out eight full quarters. If Johnny’s 4600 yards are an all-time SEC total offense record, how do 5,530 yards sound for a regular season, before he’s even played a conference championship game or a bowl game? This would be Johnny’s numbers had he played 60 minutes in all 12 games; 5,530 total yards. These are phenomenal numbers, but the real ones are quite impressive, as well…especially for a second-year Rookie. Look out America! It’s looking like the 12th Shall Be First! If you’ve been following my weekly posts on Gamedayr (and who hasn’t?), you may
recall the final thought in my most recent article preceding the A&M-Ole Miss game; It suggested that “the great thing now is, we’re not in that Aggie Wishbone!” Even though I personally ran the Wishbone’s triple-option version for five years at Texas A&M University, I’ve always felt the offensive scheme imposed upon us was the sole reason A&M didn’t add three or four more “legitimate” national championship signs to its walls at Kyle Field. Lord knows we certainly had the players and staff to do it. Seriously, can you imagine being behind by 10 points with six minutes to play and stuck in a full-house backfield with only one wide receiver in Oxford, Mississippi? Me either. Can you imagine a less favorable outcome? Yeah, me too. I have patiently waited for this 2012 offense to arrive at A&M for almost forty years, so please pardon my giddiness. I recall my hopes flickering once during the 2008 season when A&M and Mike Sherman were hosting the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Not once during the first half did a tight end step onto the field. We stayed in the “spread” throughout, and QB Jerrod Johnson had an excellent half of football, leading the Aggies to a 23-20 halftime lead. I was ecstatic about the future of A&M football while employing the preeminent Big 12 offense. Unfortunately, after getting shut down in the second half by Mike Leach’s defensive staff, Sherman returned to his multiple sets and myriad of personnel packages for the remainder of his tenure at A&M, fooling no one. Conversely, Coach Sumlin’s predator-styled “stun gun offense” performed precisely and to perfection in the latter minutes of Saturday’s game with Ole Miss. It discovered the flaws of the defense and the mismatches in alignment and personnel. It was relentless in its precision. This offense and the confidence it instills both revived and reinvigorated the Aggies, springing them up off the canvas in as far-fetched of a fashion as you’ll ever see on any movie screen. Suddenly these down-and outers were coming from nowhere, throwing haymakers like Sugar Ray Leonard did when he hammered poor Roberto “No Mas”Duran into surrendering his dignity. The Aggies “Rope-a-Doped” the 3-2 Rebels for a vast majority of the ball game just prior to air-raiding and bombarding these visibly shaken, head-spinning opponents into silent submission, just as cool and calculating as Ali had been in downing the seemingly indomitable George Foreman back in ’74. The Rumble in the Jungle transformed into the Groove at the Grove. In fact, the fighters’ own handlers were the only ones who saw the impending dooms looming for the opposing corners, just as the coaches and players comprising this A&M team did. The national TV audience and the paying crowd wildly celebrating in the stands beforehand certainly didn’t. Aggies watching around the world didn’t either. They were too accustomed to seeing the Aggies fall behind and remain stuck in neutral in previous decades. The Aggies simply lost too many games in which they were favored. Many began wondering if the Aggies had ever come back from such a deficit this late in a ball game. “Nope, can’t think of one,” they concluded. “Once we’re beat, we’re pretty much beat. Same ol,’ same old. OLE MISS, BY DAMN!” Rumor has it that many Aggie supporters kicking back in their homes were so bent out of shape that they switched channels after the fourth quarter interception thrown by the Aggies ended all hope. Just imagine their surprise when opening the Sunday paper the next morning–hey, this is real stuff here. The word “surreal”doesn’t even begin to cover it, as astonishing as this most unlikely of A&M comebacks was. As much as the coaching staff had to reevaluate after faltering offensively against Florida (now the No. 4 team in the country according to this week’s AP poll), it must feel a huge amount of satisfaction for this win over Mississippi. All it took was calculated desperation to get the rally started and the execution of just a few well-called, pre-snap reads to finish the deal. Though there was definitely no quit in this Rebels team throughout, there certainly was the sweet smell of victory nipping at its collective nose. Hey, when you’ve got a team crouched in its own bunkers 99 yards away from the end zone you’re defending, a third and 19 situation with 6 minutes left on the clock and holding a 10-point lead no less, well, your chances are looking pretty darned good. You’ve already totally exasperated your opponents offensively and in your mind you’ve beat the hell out of ‘em defensively, so you quietly hear the braggadocio within you whispering, “Give it up, guys. Can’t you see you’re done here?” This juncture of the game is when you pull out all the stops, swarm the poor defenseless quarterback and at the very least get the ball back in your own territory where you do what you want with it. Victory does smell sweet when you’re finally realizing you’ve played well enough for so long that you just can’t lose, and with it comes the naturally-occurring big sigh of relief. It’s party time for the first time in awhile here at the Grove. And this was the precise situation Ole Miss found itself in, with everything soundly secured, excitedly waiting to see the white flag rising from the overwhelmed newbie camp of Old Army. Actually, the Maroon and White hadn’t been as tough as Ole Miss expected. They weren’t nearly as consistent or worthy as the films had suggested. The Aggies on this night had been predictably reduced to nothing more than an irresponsible, pass-happy bunch of pretty boys who apparently had no real guts or poise when needed most. “I mean, just look at‘em all,” they exclaimed. “They’re good as finished. They’ve succumbed to the real pressure of SEC home cookin’. They played more like Texas Patsies than Texas Aggies and can’t seem to even be able to hold on to the football. They just folded, even against the worst team in the league. Hey, it’s tough on the road here in THE Southeastern Conference. Hotty Toddy, Gosh almighty, who the hell are we! Hey! Flim Flam, Bim Bam, OLE MISS BY DAMN!’” And just as the Rebels were about to stick the proverbial fork in the Aggies’ rear ends, they got hit with the “bomb,” a perfectly lofted spiral deep down the right sideline into heavy coverage, promptly snapping the Rebs back to their senses. Having not won an SEC game in over 765 days and counting, the Rebels were, however, still certain of victory. Their lead was too big and they’d played too well to have this game slip away. Surely these newcomers from Texas didn’t have the courage or wherewithal to challenge them on their own home turf with so many opportunities already blundered. After all, this 2012 team had already given the ball away six times in a variety of ways. Not since 1974 when the Wishbone Aggies lost five of eight fumbles to a weak TCU team, had any A&M team been victorious while committing so many turnovers. In fact, it was that same year when A&M opened its season with a 7-0 victory over Ole Miss, a narrow victory in which the Aggies defense accounted for eleven Ole Miss Quarterback sacks. These two schools hadn’t even met since 1980. No, nothing that happened so long ago would have any bearing on this game. The tradition starts here, and the Aggies were still too far down with too little time left. “Yes,” the Ole Miss folks thought, “that was a just lucky play that will only delay the inevitable. Hang in there, defense!” Former SEC Offensive Player of the Week, Johnny “No Fail” Manziel, hadn’t shown the Midas touch for the first 3 and a half quarters. Sure, he’d broken a few nice runs and hit a few throws, but Ole Miss was proving too quick and forceful up front for the“Who Dat’ Kid” to rise above this particular fray. He hadn’t been around long enough in this league to know it isn’t far from the penthouse to the outhouse. Heck, this “Johnny Come Lately” hadn’t even played outside of the state of Texas in his entire life! No worries here. Running back Ben Malena then slipped through the line for a run of 36 yards to the Ole Miss 29. From there, Manziel found another opening, and on a run that resembled a playground “two below” game, he ran somewhat untouched the necessary 29 yards for a touchdown. This culminated an official 88-yard drive that was actually one of 99.7 yards, technically speaking. Somehow the whale had spewed Johnny out of its mouth, for no particular reason; perhaps just to tease the visitors and their supporters. What fun this would be! The extra-point kick was missed, of course, and Aggies everywhere began reminding themselves once again of who they were, and once again sunk deeper into depths of despair.“Well, we are the Aggies, now aren’t we?” The only thing that could save them now was a near miracle, loosely referred to something vaguely known around Aggieland as, ahem, “defense.” This ‘wannabe’ of a mirage always brings a little chortle and a wink in quiet conversations around the water coolers, presumably because it had gone totally extinct in the Valley decades ago. “Wait. This defense? Our defense? A STOP here when it counts? Get real.” (LOL to follow.) Sure enough, the Aggies gave up a first down, as expected from most of the A&M crowd. Then they gave up another six yards, then two, and then only ONE! Suddenly it’s fourth down with the ball on the Mississippi 39 yard line and only 3 and a half minutes remaining. A punt from here could put the Aggies maybe 80 yards away and needing to get into the end zone to win the game. It was an obvious decision for the Ole Miss coaching staff. The Ole Miss defense had played extremely well overall. It was a no-brainer. Inexplicably, Ole Miss kept its offense on the field, then got in the shotgun and tried to run for it. It wasn’t even close. That was OUR DEFENSE out there, high-stepping and high-fiving it off the field to the cheers of everyone on that sideline and springing from their La-Z-Boys. Hey, this just doesn’t happen for Aggies, but it had! Still hope! One minute and 16 seconds later, Ryan Swope was waving the football in the air in the end zone after he and Manziel had caught the Ole Miss secondary playing man coverage and lining up beat. Swope’s perfect corner route was complimented by the perfect throw as A&M kept its two wide receivers decoying short inside routes while sending Swope deep behind them. It was great execution at a pivotal point in the drive – and in the game. Five minutes earlier the Rebels and their fans had been reveling in their presumed victory but it was far from over. Coach Sumlin’s stun gun offense had them moaning and writhing in pain when least expected. With a three-point lead and a very improbable victory within sight, the Aggie defense, ahem, would need to keep the Rebels out of field-goal range and definitely out of the end zone to wrap this game up in regulation. Mississippi quarterback Bo Wallace calmly hit Donte Moncrief for 32 yards down to the A&M 32 yard line. Suddenly, the field-goal possibility was looking very realistic with just over a minute to play. A&M defensive back Toney Hurd, Jr. then jumped a short option route and came up with a huge interception that sealed the fate of the once-rousing Rebels. The celebration that ensued was indeed spontaneous, well-deserved and well worth every one of the 15 ‘unsportsmanlike’ penalty yards assessed. By remaining poised, alert and confident, Manziel now trails only Alabama’s AJ McCarron in the NCAA Quarterback Rating among SEC quarterbacks and is 12th nationally. Meanwhile, the Aggies are celebrating their first top 25 ranking as a member of the SEC, coming in at No. 23 in the A.P. and 21st in the USA Today. Seven teams from the conference are now represented in the polls. Interestingly, A&M and its next opponent, the LA Tech Bulldogs, rank 22nd and 23rd in the ESPN Power Rankings, respectively. Tech will be the first of two consecutive big games against teams from the neighboring state of Louisiana. The second will be the LSU Tigers, a great team obviously still smarting from its loss to Florida while priming this week for SEC-East co-leader, South Carolina. Favored at home by a field goal over the undefeated Gamecocks, an LSU victory will mean a showdown for SEC-West survival next week in College Station. While it will be difficult not to look ahead to hosting the Tigers, the Aggies must be prepared to play their best defensive game of the year this week in Shreveport. D-Lineman Demontre Moore is fourth in the nation in sacks and second in the nation in tackles for a loss. He’ll need plenty of help against this explosive offense that surrenders sacks quite infrequently. The comeback win in Oxford was a tremendous carryover from the rout of the Razorbacks a week earlier, and with the season currently exceeding expectations in many quarters, this is not the week for an upset. Bulldog QB Colby Cameron has won 10 of his last 11 starts and also started three games during his sophomore year, with his first being against Texas A&M. Cameron hasn’t been intercepted yet this season and has thrown 13 TD passes, hitting 72.5 percent of his passes at home. Last season Cameron beat out the second-youngest quarterback in college football history, Nick Isham, who then transferred to Arizona and is red-shirting this season. The Bulldogs have won their last 12 regular season games. Tech’s only loss in the interim was to TCU last December in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl by the score of 31-24. TCU had an excellent 11-2 record in 2011 and trailed the Bulldogs 24-17 entering the fourth quarter. The defending WAC champions are accustomed to winning close, high-scoring games. Thus far this season, they’ve beaten Houston 56-49, Virginia 44-38 and three others by an average of 55-31, ranking third in the country while scoring 53 points per game. Louisiana Tech has also racked up the eleventh most yards per game (523.4), barely edging out the SEC-leading Aggies (516.8). Very few teams are capable of scoring one point for every ten yards gained, but Louisiana Tech is hitting the mark. A&M’s 44.6 points per game are eighth in the NCAA and also lead the SEC. The Aggies’ are surrendering 14.8 points per game, ranking sixth in the defensive-minded SEC and 14th in the country. Louisiana Tech gives up almost 36 points per game, ranking 109th among 124 D-1 schools. All things being equal, the Aggies should maintain or perhaps gain some ground offensively this coming Saturday, provided they get in enough game-time possessions. No one has slowed the Bulldogs down yet, and there’s only 22 seconds difference in each team’s time of possession this season with each hovering near the 27-minute mark. Unfortunately, this will be the final game of the season where victory is expected right in step with offensive stats that will continue to be padded. The levels of competition, philosophies and game faces will change dramatically after the Tech game, when wins and losses become the only gauge of success and stats become secondary. The term “field position” will come back into play in huge quantities. I look forward to the tests these outstanding opportunities will present for our strategies and personnel. We’re looking forward to a hard-fought, thrilling football game this weekend. The experts predict an Aggie victory by the score of 40-32, which certainly sounds reasonable. All kinds of Texas A&M records could fall. Let’s just hope they’re all on the offensive side of the ball — stun-gun style. |
David Walker
College football's youngest starting QB and Aggie great, the first 4-year starting QB ever at Texas A&M. Archives
September 2013
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