Again, if they didn't want him talking (Tweeting) I don't think he'd be talking. It's really as simple as that. TAMU hasn't done anything but enable him since he became Heisman. I think it's blatantly obvious, yet everyone seems blind to it. There is no leash on this guy because they feel he is a magnet.
No high school kid is reading that piece. I'm aware other schools can negative recruit. It is what it is. A calculated risk. Exactly. And he gets the best players. So what? Sumlin might head out in 2-3 years, what does he care? I never said this was the right move, if indeed it was the tactic being used, I'm also not saying it's the wrong move. Just observing. We all know he was redshirted, that means he didn't play in a real game, nothing new here. I don't think he would have gotten the same chance/s at any other school. Not sure he'd be starting at Oregon right now and he wouldn't have last year, and he probably would never have been brought along as QB in Austin. Oh and on your final comment... I guess, personally I didn't want to be in CS after a few years either but I wouldn't want to be in any other SEC town either. Or OU. I grew up in the big city like Manziel. Some of us like big cities. I'm sure a large % of SEC students feel the same way. He's just speaking openly. Some of y'all are kind of aggressive towards my commentary. It's just a notion, one I never committed too hard to, just kind of told a story, and now some of y'alls world's are exploding... the last time I got this kind of flack it was when I was on board with TAMU moving to the SEC as a calculated but necessary risk they needed to take. I feel vindicated on that front... Maybe I should stand by my latest statement. Seems I'm often right.
They're letting him Tweet because they know if they try to ban him for doing it, what are they going to do to punish him if he continues? Do they really want to start a pissing, sorry, pee-pee match with Manziel over stupid tweets that show him to be a typical 20-year-old kid and risk threatening to discipline him knowing most likely they're going to have to back those words up? You are smoking pee-pee laced crack if you think the coaching staff or the university is happy that the most-recognzied football player ever their school is publicly acting like this. They just hope it will cease by the time the season rolls around.
I still don't get what the kid is doing wrong besides being a college student. Now if he has a terrible season everyone will hate and criticize even more, but if he wins, everyone has a lot of crow to eat. He is doing what all his teammates do on the partying and tweeting front. You got running backs and DBs on vine and twitter using profanity and such. You got other teammates partying in Austin as well. No one cares, as they shouldn't with Johnny.
Tracking Johnny Manziel: The quest to profile Texas A&M's star I don't have subscription to SI but it looks like the Chron picked up some of it.
I'm sure they prefer he was a model citizen and Captain Aggie, but yes, I do think it's that simple to discipline a player like Manziel. "Hey Johnny, we're requiring that every single tweet you make goes through a review" - I really don't think that's a crazy notion. It's not like he's breaking laws out there. All he has to do is win. Nothing else matters.
Maybe and maybe they're doing that right now. Who knows? But to mark this up to some sort of revolutionary recruiting scheme by A&M is silly. Someone spiked your morning pee-pee.
Ha, revolutionary is drastic, fair enough, but if they're doing what I think they're doing it does seem like an unprecedented approach to me. Nobody has ever unchained their star athlete like this at the college level. High school kids are following this and you know what they probably think right? "Damn, that Johnny Football is one cool guy, that Sumlin fellow must let him do whatever the hell he wants, I want to go there and party, sit courtside, meet women, then go pro. Where do I sign?"
Sure - and maybe that pisses him off and he goes on more rants about much he hates College Station and can't wait to get out of there. That's probably not quite so good for recruiting.
Scouting Johnny Manziel There has been a lot of talk about Johnny Manziel’s off-the-field antics this summer and maturity issues may very well factor into his NFL draft evaluation next April. But how does Manziel, who's 5-foot-11⅝, 200 pounds and runs a 4.40 40-yard dash, stack up as a pro prospect based solely on his skill set as a quarterback? Here’s a breakdown based off six games of coach-copy tape we have studied. As is the case with all quarterback prospects, we focus on the four key skill sets: mental makeup, accuracy, release/arm strength and pocket mobility. MENTAL MAKEUP -- Grade: 3 (1 being the top of the scale, 5 being the bottom) Manziel will always deal with the internal tug-of-war between maximizing his unique skill set (mobility) and playing within the confines of the offense in the NFL. He's late picking up the blitz but frequently gets away with it because of his elite scrambling ability. Manziel also needs to cut down on balls thrown up for grabs and back over the middle of the field. However, his poise and his field vision while in chaos are unique traits. No stage is too big, he's in complete control on the field and he delivers in the clutch. For his relative lack of experience, he has remarkable on-field leadership, poise and elite competitiveness. ACCURACY -- Grade: 3 His footwork is highly inconsistent and needs refining, but Manziel is surprisingly accurate on short-to-intermediate throws given his poor footwork: stepping off-target, failing to transfer weight, throwing off-balance. He's more accurate than most when throwing on the run and he makes throws from body-and-arm angles that few can execute. Manziel also flashes the ability to drop the ball in between defenders on sideline shots and down seams, but his overall deep-ball accuracy is below average at this point. His throws on fades tend to be off-target, as well. At times, his marginal height clearly impairs his field vision and passing windows from inside the pocket. RELEASE/ARM STRENGTH -- Grade: 3 His ball carriage is erratic and that leads to an inconsistent delivery path, but Manziel generally gets the ball out quickly. His arm strength is adequate but not good. He gets adequate zip on intermediate throws and deep outs, but only when he gets good hip rotation from proper delivery mechanics. Manziel can generate adequate velocity when throwing off-balance or when short-striding to beat the rush, but his deep ball tends to die on descent. POCKET MOBILITY -- Grade: 1 His improvisational skill -- as a runner and a thrower on the run -- is a unique trait. Manziel's ability to sense and avoid pressure is outstanding. He's an elite running threat and displays elite vision, athleticism, elusiveness and speed for the position. The biggest knock on him is his impatience in pocket. He bails out of the pocket too many times when instead he should look to avoid pressure -- slide or climb -- and reset his feet in the pocket. SUMMARY No player in my lifetime resembles Doug Flutie more than Manziel. But for draft purposes, the inevitable comparison will be Russell Wilson, who has quickly emerged as the exception to the rule as a successful sub-6-foot quarterback in the NFL. I went back and studied more tape of Wilson at Wisconsin in the middle of my tape study of Manziel, and it proved to be a very helpful exercise. For comparison purposes, here’s a look at how Wilson graded out in the four position-specific skill sets coming out of Wisconsin: MENTAL MAKEUP -- Grade: 1 ACCURACY -- Grade: 2 RELEASE/ARM STRENGTH -- Grade: 2 POCKET MOBILITY -- Grade: 1 It’s important to keep in mind that Manziel has just one season of starting experience under his belt, while Wilson was a fourth-year starter during the 2011 season for the Badgers. By all accounts, Manziel’s second season as Texas A&M’s starting quarterback will be his last before turning pro. Manziel is a quicker athlete and more dynamic scrambler. However, Wilson was far more effective with his accuracy and decision-making from inside the pocket. Wilson also had a stronger arm as a college quarterback. What matters most for Manziel is the improvement he shows moving forward. If Manziel is to enjoy similar NFL success at the quarterback position he must upgrade his accuracy, which will only occur if he’s been working tirelessly on his footwork this offseason. Manziel also needs to become more disciplined as a pocket passer and with his overall decision-making skills. Manziel will undoubtedly be a headliner in 2014 draft class but he has some ground to gain in order to lock down a spot in the top five quarterbacks selected. Here’s a quick look at my rankings based off of preseason grades: 1. Teddy Bridgewater, Louisville 2. Brett Hundley, UCLA 3. Stephen Morris, Miami-Fla. 4. AJ McCarron, Alabama 5. Tajh Boyd, Clemson 6. Marcus Mariota, Oregon 7. Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M 8. Logan Thomas, Virginia Tech 9. Braxton Miller, Ohio St. 10. Aaron Murray, Georgia
The season can't start soon enough. JFF is either going to validate the criticism or he is going to be vindicated, and I can't wait to see what happens. My main concern is that Johnny will be trying too hard to prove everyone wrong and try to do too much, which will cause him to make more mistakes.
I've seen QB's labeled as scramblers about to turn pro change their game the year before they enter the draft only to have it wind up hurting them. I wonder if that happens.
RGIII wins the "character" comparison by miles. J.M.'s off field "issues" sort of remind you of a Bobby Lane or a Joe Namath. Remember Jake the "Snake?" And who was the young Raider QB that flamed out so quickly? It is not that a "bad boy" can't make it in the NFL, several have. But, off field immaturity (lots of drinking) can erode elite athleticism in a hurry. Check out Steve Francis.
Be careful. You can have a scrambling QB take you all the way to the championship game and get ****ed up by a giant D lineman halfway through the 1st quarter. Really puts a damper on the 4 years previous. All it takes is 1 hit. Dude, NO ONE is going to eat crow if he wins because no one is saying he's bad. He's just a jackass off the field. You shouldn't compare him to any college student. You should compare him to every other QB of a division 1 school. You are the head of a major institution. Act like it. There is a price that comes with the trust an institution puts in you and you have an obligation to represent that school in the best way possible. Didn't A&M put up a billboard of him in time square? I may be wrong but it seems like he has A&M and Sumlin by the balls right now. So much of the value of their program is now tied to what he can do for them on the field. Maybe that is exaggerating though. Say what you want about crazy VY but he was a class act in school. Although punching a guy in a strip club because he put the horns down was awesome. THAT BEING SAID, this is coming from Book Em Horns. Wins are what matters. Losing with Joe Dogood has no impact on your life but winning makes life soooooo much better. I would take the bad with the good if the dude wins games.
