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.

Our Louisiana Hall of Fame coach, Shannon Suarez, would tell us every day,  “It ain’t far from the penthouse to the outhouse.” As a countrified sports  truism, it stands alone. It makes itself visible all the time, doesn’t it,  Tiger?

 Well, now here’s Johnny! His horse just got spooked out from underneath him,  and in the minds of millions today, he’s either flat on his backside or dangling  from some live oak tree. The athletic director just saw the dark side of the  Moon and one can be sure it’s never seen a Tide.

 [TWEET TWEET: Johnny Manziel 'can't wait to leave College Station']

 Sure, it may have been self-inflicted, but Johnny is certainly not the first  to wage war on a defenseless city without warning. As far back as when the  Vietnam War was ending, hundreds of us Aggie footballers did exactly the same  thing in this small Texas town of College Station. Fortunately for us, it was  only our parents who were on the other end of the wall phone listening to our descriptions of massive discomfort.

 Nowadays, the wall phone and long-distance toll calls have transformed into clicks on a little smart phone; harmless little peckings as texts go — but real  giant killers as tweets go. One must know the difference. Text or tweet. Tweet  or text. One means letting off a little steam to those who are closest to you,  while the other is the F-Bomb dropped right in the middle of Town Square.

 The Rule of Thumb here is to text only your girl or best bud in times of angst. That’s not
reckless. But, you see, Johnny lives like he plays—on the edge. That’s just the way it is with athletes. But if you do tweet criticism of the town in which you  currently live, you may find out where the love truly lies. Maybe less followers  and more haters is a good thing. And based on the exit polls I’ve been trolling,  it appears that maybe 10% are justifying his statement(s), as best they can.

 And as great of an athlete as this young college student is, it just doesn’t  seem to matter in the eyes of the voters. Many of these haters seem ready to  nail him to the cross, put his wrapped body in a canoe, and send him down the  Brazos River somewhere.

 But the truth is, as I heard on sports radio this morning, nobody cares much  about anything but winning. They seem to be saying, “If you’d just oblige us by  keeping your mouth shut and playing football from now on, you’re free to go at  any time. Oh, but one more thing–be sure and bring us the big BCS trophy before  you point your Beemer or Mercedes to the high country.”

 It is this that makes me uncomfortable. It’s not his tweet. Normally the only athletes who stay in College Station are those who grew up in College  Station. I can count on two fingers the number of former football players who  still live here who aren’t working in some capacity for the university. It’s  common knowledge. You could say the same thing about the entire student body.  For most Aggies, it’s in and out with visitation rights. 

Johnny just voiced what everyone knows, and the  people screaming on the Aggie forums will themselves be gone within a couple of  years, or already are. The town is centrally located between some pretty good  cities, which is its draw. It’s small enough that you can stay out of trouble,  as the recruiters like to say. Back in the day we sometimes traveled 30 miles to  Sam Houston State in Huntsville for a night out.

 Frustration is a human trait and everyone  handles theirs differently. He has a right to his opinion and a right to voice  it, and with it, the right to turn everything off and avoid those who are  calling for his head. With everything else going on, who knows how short his  future here may be? It’s the archaic NCAA rules that are partly to blame,  disallowing the players to profit on any endorsements that may be available to them as Olympians can. 

To me, it’s important to remember that Johnny has not broken the Aggie Code of
Honor in any way, shape, or form. This outpouring of negativity from  his own classmates and “former students” certainly can’t be inspiring the young  man to “fight for Maroon and White.”

 As a guy who has been labeled both “messiah”  and “pariah” in his years as the A&M quarterback, I promise the  transformation is a difficult one to get a handle on. Johnny’s tweet could be  the early echoes of a super-hero desperately wanting to change into his awaiting dynamic attire being held by a smiling general manager.  

In the meantime, Johnny will probably allow  only his closest friends to be near him, and he will continue to work to have  the greatest season of any college quarterback in history. 

It’s Johnny against the world now. He has you  right where he wants you. In the eyes of a supreme gladiator, this is exactly  the mindset Johnny needs. We all just got cut off, gang. I’d be surprised to see  him grant a single interview until the end of next season. He has laid out his  game plan, and it doesn’t include any know-it-all, loud-mouthed onlookers. You  can’t win with negative people in your way – or by your side.


In the end, Johnny’s coach, personnel,  offensive system and, oh, the quickest reflexes this side of a rattlesnake,   will allow him to accomplish heroic things. With these tools he can become the  greatest there ever was, and then say, “See ya.”

 Good for you, Johnny. The NFL can’t wait to  have you as part of its family.

My 90 year-old Aggies landlord, Henry Hilton, stopped by the other day after  returning from a vacation in Italy. Sometimes he likes to come by and chew the
fat, though he’s not getting around as well as he did five years ago when we  first met here in College Station. Back then, my youngest girl had just  transferred to A&M from Belmont University in Nashville where she’d attended  several semesters to study music. As Texas’ 5A Soprano One First Chair (or State  Champ, as I call her), she felt Belmont was her best choice to continue her  music studies after considering Berklee in Boston and NYU. We’d vacationed in  Nashville earlier in hers’ and her sister’s childhoods and the college seemed  familiar and down-home to her Mom and me.

 She had never visited A&M, with the exception of spending a week at a  basketball camp one summer during her junior high years. The thing was, in all  those years of raising her and her sister and working most weekends myself, I’d  never had the opportunity to bring our family to an A&M football game.

 My girls were basketball players and involved in church and other social  activities, and not surprisingly, weren’t football fans. My coaching days were  long over and other than attending an occasional high school game, I was pretty  much on my own in the Man Cave. They even called it “The Cave” back then. How funny; I’m thinking a lady came up with the term.

I decided one weekend to fly her in from Nashville and we drove into College  Station for a game. When I was arranging for tickets, I was told over the phone  the seats were located three rows from the top in the end zone, so I asked for seats at the very top, which I received. I mean, if you’re that close already,  why not go all the way? Well, little did I know, she fell in love with Texas  A&M — its yell leaders and student section, the hand signals they’d give to  alert the crowd of the next yell, the band and the spirit. She even started  studying the program to decipher what all was coming up next. I sort of beamed.

 The game was great too. We fell behind Oklahoma State but came back and beat  the Cowboys for what may turn out to be the last time in our school’s history.  My daughter transferred into Aggieland and received a double degree in  Psychology and Sociology, and for now has her singing career on hold. Named  after Carly Simon, I figure she’ll be a star once she’s ready to roll. After my  Longhorn lady and I split up after our 25-year contract expired, I decided I’d move back to College Station and catch up on some games, some Aggie camaraderie  and be around if my new Aggie needed anything.

 While driving through a neighborhood that sits pretty close to the campus, I  saw a “For Rent” sign and a truck sitting in the gravel driveway. Stopping and  getting out, I peered into a window where a gentleman was busy with some  repairs. I yelled, “You’re working too hard in there!” He looked up and smiled, and I said, “Can I come in?”

 We introduced ourselves and he asked me if I was David Walker, the  quarterback, to which I responded, “Yes, sir.” He told me his wife had bought  their two sons both mine and kicker Tony Franklin’s jerseys back when they were  just kids. This was pretty cool. I asked him what the ‘going rate’ was on the  little 2-bedroom house and he told me. I’d driven by this same house a thousand  times when I was in college, so it already felt a little like home to me.  I’d  even been in a bad wreck in front of it when a guy U-turned on me from the right  lane just after sunset one evening.

 Little did I know I’d be in another accident a couple of years later that  would break my neck. It would be in this house I would type my memoirs  two-fingered (it’s how I roll), unknowingly suffering from a cervical fracture  and two complete dislocations.

I said, “Deal,” and Mr. Hilton gave me his agent’s business card and said  she’d get me ready to roll. While apartments were requiring proof of employment,  this gentleman never asked for any; it was an Aggie deal. There once was a time  when a handshake in Aggieland was all one needed and jobs were easy to find.

 My landlord is a former Marine who was a civil engineer for the Military for  many years, most of them spent overseas or in South America. I asked him what he thought of Johnny Manziel and the season we’d just had. He first told me about a  game in 1940 when Texas A&M was about to repeat as national champions,  having won it all in 1939. The last game of the season in ’40 was in Austin  against our former bitter rival, the University of Texas. Tickets, he said, were  $1.10 and many of the boys couldn’t get inside the stadium because they didn’t  have the money. Security had a pretty good eye on all the gates and fences, but  a delivery truck pulled up and when the gate opened, a few of them were able to  dash in and scatter.

 Hey, you had to make do in those days.

 Apparently it was a heartbreaking loss, and he hitch-hiked back to a little  town called Hearne with a couple of well-to-do, very happy Texas grads after the  game. Hearne was still about 30 miles out, so he hitch-hiked the rest of the way  with some fellow Ags who were coming back from the game.

 Seventy-two years later, he still has trouble talking about that night.

 He quickly brightened though, changed his tone and looked me in the eyes and  said, “Dave, this season was the best I can remember since 1939.” How could  anyone have enjoyed it more than a 90 year-old Aggie, and our quarterback?  There’s surely others who came close but after observing this gentleman’s  demeanor, I’m satisfied none surpassed him.

 He was wearing a company jacket that I noticed had the name of Ennis, Texas  on it. He told me the story about how he’d received it from one of the city  contractors once when he was on a job there. I mentioned that our quarterback  had just gotten himself a speeding ticket in Ennis and the judge, a Baylor grad (don’t mess with Texas football!) was claiming they’d caught the Joker, or  somebody just as notorious, for excessive use of acceleration in their quaint  little speed-trap town.  The judge added that college defenses couldn’t catch  Johnny but their police department sure had … wait, make that, “allegedly.”

 Mr. Hilton (yes, I call him Mister Hilton) just laughed. All  the stories the media guys and gals have passed judgment on and the little  “meeting” our athletic director from A&M had with Johnny’s parents are all  laughable matters in real-time. Even Johnny said a week later that neither his  parents nor the A.D. had informed him of the details of any such discussion. He  only knew what the A.D. had quoted to the papers. This tells me that Johnny’s  parents know which apple carts to topple, and which not to. Apparently this  little sit-down didn’t amount to the big ol’ blip on the radar screen the A.D.  had hoped for.

 After all, since my playing days began during the modern era of football at  A&M (the Vietnam War ended my Freshman year, coeds were on campus, freshmen  were playing real football and the black athletes were coming on board), I’ve  got to agree with my landlord. When has any A&M quarterback (Heisman winner  or not) been able to enjoy a season AND a season finale like we had this  year?
 
  At Texas A&M, great seasons have uncannily been spoiled by losing the  ensuing bowl game or being ineligible in the first place. This is why 1976 (10-2  record, ranked 7th nationally with a season-ending 7-game winning streak) and 2012 (11-2, ranked fifth nationally with a season-ending 6-game winning streak)  are about as close to reasons for genuine revelry this school has had heading  into the off-season.

 Jackie Sherrill’s Cotton Bowl-winning season of 1985 certainly ranks in the  top 3 for us in the modern era as a ‘body of work with a finish’.

 Kevin Murray was exceptional during this 10-2 season and also in beating  Auburn and Heisman winner, Bo Jackson.

 1987 was also strong but the team was declared ineligible the following spring for the upcoming ’88 season, which certainly erased some luster.  Otherwise we have to go back to 1956 to run down another No. 5 team.

 Losing season finales is no way to start an off-season. Rarely does a team  lose its last game and come back to win the national championship the following  season. (Reason for Revelry No. 28). It’s time to celebrate a little and act  like we’ve been here before.


 Here’s another reason to celebrate. A recent study says Johnny’s Heisman has  brought in an estimated 37 million dollars in free exposure. Johnny’s share is  zero, or at best, deferred. Self-promotion is the number one key to successful  ventures later in life — that time period when the NCAA doesn’t have its  stranglehold on you. (Right or Wrong, only TMZ knows for sure.)

 The more Johnny hits the spotlight the greater his opportunities will be for  endorsements once his college career is done. Responsibilities aside, Johnny has  to get out there, preferably with Miss Savage on one arm. Hey, Johnny is no  Tebow, and nobody expects or truly wants him to be. I support Johnny in every  public endeavor because, as much as everyone seems to believe he’s a kid who  doesn’t know any better yet, I would advise you against challenging him in a  game of Chess, pool , Monopoly or especially poker. You just might get your butt  beat while he’s laughing all the way to the bank.

 I was the Conference Freshman of the Year and played the entire season at 17  years of age, and was born in December like Johnny. I’ve still never seen New  York City, although I have been to Dallas (to watch Texas play the U and take a  girlfriend to try out for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders) and I’ve even made it  to a few NBA basketball games in my lifetime. What’s up with Jack Nicholson,  anyway? No Lakers seats? Of course, they’re not having a particularly stellar season.

Regardless, when Old School meets New School, there’s no contest.

 Enjoy Johnny Heisman while you can. Obviously he is a dreamer with a huge  imagination. His visualization skills are right on par with his peripheral ones.  He’ll try to get it right but if it’s not there, he will  improvise. That’s what makes him unpredictable; that’s what makes him Johnny.  And he’s pretty good at the laser shot, balcony shot, long ball and longer ball,  too. (See Dude Perfect)

[Check it out >>  Johnny Football pulls off  some unreal trick shots with Dude Perfect]

 I’ve been saying this since I knighted him the No. 1 quarterback in A&M’s  history following just the second game of his career in a throwback ’70s Aggie  uniform. I had to go back and study the replay as a coach would several times  before I wrote that week’s article.

 Here’s the deal: with the success this Spread offense is having in the NFL,  as soon as Johnny gets proficient with the “Zone Read” (referred to in the NFL  as the “Zone Option,” probably for elitist reasons) suitors will  come calling. You’ve got RG3 in Washington (are you kidding me?? Shanahan’s  running it???), that 5-foot-11 Russell Wilson kid in Seattle (USC’s former coach  runs that outfit, who, by the way, lost a national championship to Vince Young’s  spread offense at Texas) and Jim Harbaugh, just a couple of years removed from  Stanford where he ran a standard Pro set, is now in the Super Bowl with Zone  Read Extraordinaire, Colin Kaepernick, after a mid-season promotion and a  distinct change in offensive direction.

 The next news out of the NFL was that the Oregon Ducks’ coach, his team a  shoe-in for preseason Top 3 honors, decided to change funky uniforms yet again  and became an Eagle — as in, Philadelphia. Guess what offense he  runs.

 Johnny Manziel has tweeted previously while watching Drew Brees hit throw after throw that Drew is proof-positive that 72 inches of height can easily get the job done in the NFL. Unfortunately for me, not many folks believed this in  the late ’70s, especially about guys in the 71-inch category running Wishbones.  They do now.

 And while Kaepernick is not short of stature, he has a much smaller man’s  wheels. Just ask the Falcons.

The clincher is, just like Drew Brees, Johnny only had a few colleges contact  him about coming to play football for them.  Drew came back from a tough knee  injury his junior year in high school to lead Austin’s Westlake High to the 5A  championship, and still, not a peep was heard from the gods of Texas football.  He even had an uncle who was a tremendous option quarterback at Texas named  Marty Akins. Drew wasn’t even recruited as a maybe-defensive back there. He  eventually went to Purdue and shattered every passing record and won a ton of  games. By gosh, he’s also won the Super Bowl.

Johnny, while under the same recruiting duress as non-college prospect Drew was — sans the knee surgery — verbally committed to go play for powerhouse  Oregon, with the same coach who now heads up the Eagles organization. This was  the only guy in America, besides Sherman at A&M and Coach Sumlin who was  still at Houston, who believed in Johnny enough after his junior year to offer  him a scholarship.

Do you think Johnny might be on Philly’s radar, especially with Michael Vick  on yet another downswing? I do.

 I’d say Johnny is the ultimate juker and certainly won’t be anybody’s Joker, at least not for long. He’s already heard an A&M rep telling ESPN that the  Texas A&M brand is bigger than Johnny Manziel. His parents have been called  into the principal’s office with what seems to be a reprimand/warning, and the  NCAA has its eyes on his every move via Twitter, Facebook, TMZ, Vegas and the  normal scumbags out there with smart phones. Meanwhile, Johnny is back attending  to his studies, doing some light-hearted singing occasionally with that Clint  Black smile of his, giving interviews at the halftimes of basketball games and  signing anything put in front of him. Just stay grounded, Johnny. 37 million,  huh?

He may be a very wealthy young man in just a little over a year from now. It  almost makes you wish Mike Sherman would’ve had reason to see if Johnny could  have saved his job as a true freshman, just to have seen him play another year.  Our best bet may be to continue to shun the Zone Read (Option) in our offensive  attack.

 At any rate, Johnny Manziel will be to Philly — or anyone else moving up in  the draft order — what Joe Willie Namath was to New York and the Jets: their  Savior. Hey, how have Tebow and Sanchez been doing lately?

 I just hope the Senior Bowl players were right when they voted the Aggies  next season’s National Champions. Mr. Hilton would enjoy that.

This hand, guys, the Juker is wild.