YOUNG GUN: Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel became the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy last night, beating out Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein and Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o. (
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The legend of Johnny Football has just begun.
Last night the Texas A&M quarterback became the first freshman ever to win the Heisman Trophy. The name is Johnny Manziel. The legend is Johnny Football.
It has just begun. And he knows it.
“Just me being able to break that barrier, it’s such an honor,’’ Manziel said. “It’s so humbling for me to be the first freshman and make history. For kids who come out of high school into college, it doesn’t matter what year you are. It doesn’t matter if you’re a freshman, true freshman, I guess that’s the next thing that there is to do.’’
Ah yes, Manziel is a redshirt freshman. He sat last season behind Ryan Tannehill.
Manziel last night stood with the most prestigious trophy in college football.
“I just turned 20,’’ Manziel said. “I’m out of the teenager stage.’’
Out of that teenage stage, onto the national stage and possibly into college football lore.
With last night’s win, Manziel is in position to become just the second player ever (Archie Griffin) to win two Heisman Trophies and the first ever to win three.
A Heisman threepeat? Crazy, you say? Unfair to put that burden on a young player? We don’t think so. Manziel wasn’t overwhelmed in Tuscaloosa when he led the Aggies to a 29-24 win over then top-ranked Alabama. He wasn’t last night when he beat out Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o by 323 points and Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein.
Herschel Walker ran for 1,616 yards as a Georgia freshman in 1980 and finished third for the Heisman. He won it as a junior. Adrian Peterson ran for a freshman record 1,925 yards as an Oklahoma freshman in 2004 and finished second.
Like Walker and Peterson, Manziel is a small-town guy from Kerrville, Texas, population 22,000 and change. He wore a conservative dark suit, white shirt and striped tie, more suited for Wall Street than Times Square. He was humble when asked about a threepeat.
“Next year the goal is not the Heisman Trophy,’’ he said, “it’s undefeated national champions.’’
What better way to add to the legend.
What he has done off the field might be more legendary than 4,600 yards of total offense and 42 touchdowns.
He has befriended Charlie Dina, a 5-year-old Texas boy who is fighting a brave battle against neoblestoma, a vicious form of cancer. Dina is in the isolation unit, about to undergo stem cell transplant. Manziel wears a bracelet on his wrist, “Charlie’s Angel’s Philippians 4:13.”
“Keep fighting,’’ Manziel said to Dina. “Keep fighting. What’s he’s going through touches my heart.’’
Manziel’s game is based on heart. He is small by FBS standards at 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, drawing comparisons to Doug Flutie’s agility and Brett Favre’s gunslinger attitude. But he is prairie dog quick and sees the play a half second before anyone else, which explains his staggering statistics.
“He’s a human video game,’’ Te’o. said “That’s the my description of Johnny Football.’’
Is there a Johnny Football app? He is a video game on the field and a laid back 20-year-old off the field. He’s not Broadway, but make no mistake, he’s a leading man.
“Living in a city like this would be hard for me,’’ Manziel said. “How big everything is. Everything is so big, the tall buildings, the lights and all the people. I’m from a town of 20,000. I’m pretty sure there’s 20,000 people out there in Times Square right now.’’
Guess what Johnny Manziel? You’re the next big thing in college football. Your legend has just begun. One day your children and children’s children might be to talk about their old man, the first player to have won three Heisman Trophies. It’s the stuff of legends.