The 12th Man QB's 'Instant Replay' of a Heisman Season: Part 4 of 4 (8,764 reads)

I was quoted on Friday in the Eagle newspaper in Bryan/College Station as
saying, “You can’t stop this offense and you can’t stop the guy who is running  it. This is the best A&M’s ever had. There’s no question. He’s just a combination of so many that makes him so unique, you can’t put a finger on who  he’s like. He’s creating his own persona of what a space-age, new millennium  quarterback can look like.”

 “He’s just fabulous in every phase of the game. I don’t think we could have a
better guy leading our program. And Johnny’s going to take us to brand new
heights. My gosh, for three more years, if he stays healthy, and everything
stays together, he’s going to be one amazing kid who walks away with every
record there is known to man.”

 “There’s no doubt. If I had a vote, he’d win the Heisman, hands down. I’m
kicking myself in the butt for not going to Vegas earlier this year. He’s had
the Heisman moments and he’s had them against the very best.”

 Texas A&M’s Trademark and Branding Hawk-eye, Jason Cook, was quoted in an  earlier article from New York as saying, “What we must remember is that the  Texas A&M brand is bigger than Johnny Manziel.”

  Well, shoot, if he wants to play one-upsmanship with our own quarterback,
it’s his prerogative. We’re just going to enjoy the show.

 What’s great is how  the entire SEC has rallied behind this newcomer in the conference. The support  really speaks volumes, not only of the school, but for Johnny in particular. He  calls opposing players by their names when they tackle him. “Nice hit, Sam,”  he’ll say as they get up. You don’t find this in many players, those who’ll take  the time and effort to know their opponents so very well. Along with his valiant  play, his attitude toward his competitors has gained him even greater respect  among his peers.

 He’s won the Davey O’Brien Award as the best Quarterback in the country and was also named the first-team All-American quarterback on the Sporting News  All-American Team. The only awards left are the Heisman Award and the  long-awaited inaugural “I’ll Tell You When You’re Good” Award. I hand this one out personally with a standing offer to purchase a copy of my book and several  cool Aggie t-shirts from NoBrag.com. (We can’t give this stuff away, you know.  NCAA.) I can already tell you that my vote is in. Congratulations, Johnny  Football. You’re Good!

 Now, let’s get to the Alabama game, the one that  shot the odds for Johnny’s Heisman bid from 20 to 1 to 8 to 1 — not that we’re  keeping track. By the way, have I mentioned how much I love the uniforms we wore  against Alabama and Missouri? Yeah, they made me a little nostalgic. Thanks, Coach Sumlin; great calls!

 Post-Game  Read for Alabama

 DOWN GOES ‘BAMA! DOWN GOES ‘BAMA! WHOOP!

 Johnny Manziel and Baylor quarterback Nick Florence continue to battle it out  for the national Total Offense crown with Johnny, despite playing the Number 1  defense in the country, closing the gap between the two to 15 yards per  game.

While the new storyline is “Johnny Football Manziel for Heisman,” there is
another current situation that many of us only dared dream would become reality;  “Alabama remains in position to win the SEC West by beating rival Auburn on Nov.  24, or by seeing the Aggies lose to Missouri on Nov. 23.”

 That’s right; we’re the only two in the hunt.

  We played Saturday like the West Division depended on it, and it did. Johnny  led the offense to 4 of 5 Red Zone scores against Alabama, the team that had led  the country in Red Zone defense for most of the year and was ranked third going  into the A&M matchup. The first three penetrations into the Crimson Tide’s  Red Zone produced touchdowns. The crowd seemed completely unnerved by the  quick-strike, Stun Gun attack.

 “We weren’t stunned at all,” Tide linebacker C.J. Mosley said, with a  straight face. “As a defense, we knew they were going to make plays, that’s what  their offense depends on. They got a great quarterback; they got a great running  back. We just have to settle down and play Alabama football.”

 First there’s business to be taken care of here in 12th Man Stadium, and that
is Sam Houston State and Missouri. I’ve yet to see us come out of the tunnel not  ready to play, so there is no reason to start fretting now. As I said after our  SMU game about Johnny Manziel, stop critiquing and begin appreciating him. He  will be gone in a flash, much too soon. It’s all in front of him, us and our  football team.

 Winning a three-game road swing for the first time since ’75 would normally
be a strong enough statement, but to top it off by whipping the defending champions on their own home turf, well, that’s just darn near a Mission  Impossible that we just accomplished. Inside four magical downs of defense,  after surrendering the bomb a play earlier that would surely seal our collective  fates, all eras would instantaneously become irrelevant to the NOW that is  occurring.

 Like Coach says, “No moment is too big.” I can’t tell you how important it is
to hear and feel this on a football team. The classiest and the smartest thing
this head coach and his offensive coordinator have done is simply allow Johnny  Manziel to lead. There are a lot of coaches whose egos don’t allow this. We’re  very fortunate.

 Our goal now is to finish at least in the Top 5, a feat not accomplished at
Texas A&M since 1956 with Bear Bryant’s near perfect 9-0-1 squad. Adding
only seven Top 10 finishes since then has left the school hungry for more
success –and thankful and extremely excited for this opportunity.

 “Whoop!”

 Pardon the Swagger; we’re coming through.

 Post-Game Read for Sam Houston

 “Alabama’s just mad, and they’re going to take it out on Johnny Football and
Texas A&M!” was Joey Harrington’s assessment on FOX Sports prior to
kickoff.

 Much like this 2012 version we’re now celebrating, by the end of the year
media types were saying, “Of all the teams out there, A&M is the team no one
wants to play.” Hail to these Ags — at least in the minds of many.

 We realize somewhat begrudgingly that only the polls prevent us from being
that team not only in the minds of many, but also on paper. Rest assured the
case has been made even as we wade through a muddled mess of scenarios.

 Well done Aggies, but you can’t beat City Hall. What a tremendous comeback season, particularly with so many road games, a new staff, new offenses and defenses and only one spring training under your belts, and it was one which did  not even include Johnny Manziel as starting quarterback.

 But what if it had? If the spring isn’t good for getting your ducks in a row
then teams wouldn’t have one, right? Regardless, against all odds this team
refused to be negatively affected after narrow losses to two great, powerful
football teams, and as a result they accomplished the near-impossible —
impressively.

 Johnny Manziel is a marvel to watch and can entertain you even on the lamest  of plays. We’re not ALL spit and polish out on that field, you know. It all  looks pretty, choreographed and synchronized, but trust me, there’s a lot of  grunt work going on protecting both this young man and our end zone. ‘Third and  shorts’ do happen, and then we go to our jumbo set … sometimes. And somehow  sparks fly from this young guy regardless of the situation, the play call or the  competition.

 For instance, on his first rushing touchdown we were running the lead option  to the right. The defensive end, Johnny’s pitch key, shot up-field and took away  Johnny’s pitch back. Then a linebacker slipped through the line preparing to  tackle Johnny for a loss when he cut up-field. Dead to rights, right?

 I’m telling you right now, Johnny has to have eyes in his earholes because he
did not give himself up and just cut up into the carnage. He didn’t surrender
and just take the hit. No, he reversed back to the left down the line and
out-quicked everyone to that end zone untouched. He scored an easy touchdown on  a perfectly defended play by the Bearkats. Boy, that’s got to be frustrating!  The poor linebacker who was about to tackle ‘Johnny the Great’ just stood there  and watched, shaking his head as he went back to the defensive huddle.

 Sure, it was only a four-yard touchdown run, but it would have gone 80 if
that’s what was needed.

 His second score came by ‘zone blocking’ to the right side by the O-Line, a
fake to Ben Malena up the gut over right guard, and then a quick scoot around  left end behind a great sealing block by junior Nehemiah Hicks. It looked like  the old “loaded” option we once ran, except Johnny doesn’t need anyone out there  with him to pitch to. This one went one yard and could have gone 99; it’s the  same difference.

 A minute and 26 seconds into the second half, Johnny played himself out of
the ball game by completing a beautifully thrown 89-yard touchdown pass on first  down to Uzoma Nwachukwu. His extra-point kick somehow sailed wide right and did  not land in downtown Hearne, as was earlier reported. This attempted extra point  will probably go down as the most inconsequential kick to never be forgotten in  the annals of college football.

 “Hey, you remember that day Johnny kicked that extra point?”

 “Legend” will one day tell a different story. This is how “Legend” works,
especially in Texas.

 “Damn right, I do. It went right through the uprights and some guy caught it
at the Hearne Post office. What is that, about 30 miles? Amazing stuff! That
Johnny Football was a PLAYUH!”

 As little as Johnny Manziel played and as well as Baylor played, I assumed
Johnny had lost ground on Baylor’s Florence in the Total Offense race
nationally. Not so. Johnny closed the gap to five yards from 15 as they still
rank Nos. 1 and 2. This is excellent news, from a quarterbacking standpoint.

 Besides the polls, players look at stats, and you can bet that everyone
involved with these two offenses knows the score here. The “Battle of the
Brazos” is only on paper this season but braggin’ rights are always of
significant importance. I’ve stated in earlier articles that had Johnny stayed
in games an equal amount of time as Florence has, the numbers would be adjusted  in Johnny’s favor.

 For instance, Johnny was on a pace to hit 699 total yards against Sam Houston  as opposed to the 367 yards with which he was actually credited.

 Now for the Heisman. I’ve never seen anyone having so much fun playing QB as  Johnny Manziel.

 Can you imagine sticking this guy behind the wheel of a Wishbone? No, me
neither.

 I’ve known Johnny’s high school coach, Mark Smith, for 30 years. Mark has
nothing but the highest of praise for Johnny’s character, ability and leadership  qualities. I give immense credit to Mark and his staff for allowing Johnny to  develop into this ungodly scoring machine without enforcing common systematic  hindrances which most high school coaches apply to their players and teams.  Sure, you’ve got to rein them in and sometimes break them from behaviors  detrimental to your team’s success on occasion, but the stallions, hey, you’ve  got to let them run. And this Stallion can go!

 Yet, even after the sloppy and unpolished play of the latest Heisman
front-runner, Collin Klein, the second from the Big 12 to fall from grace (West  Virginia QB Geno Smith was the other), we still find ourselves watching in  horror as the talking heads try to gather up steam for anyone not named Johnny  Manziel. I have to ask, “Why do voters feel they’re doing some kind of  disservice to the game if they vote the Heisman to a freshman?”

 The game’s ego will survive and after all, Johnny turns 20 next month. Isn’t
20 old enough?

 It could be that Texas A&M and Johnny Manziel and Kevin Sumlin have come  too far too fast for anyone to grasp. Sometimes it’s the obvious pill that is  toughest to swallow.

 Beat the Hell Outta Missouri. And don’t change a thing.

 Post Game Read for Missouri

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!

  Johnny analyzing the Missouri defense.

 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.

 [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9y2jtwS3SsI&w=420&h=315]

 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!!

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