Johnathon Manziel (born December 6, 1992), also known by his nickname, Johnny Football, is an American football quarterback for the Texas A&M Aggies. He was nationally recruited out of high school as a dual-threat quarterback with an impressive ability to extend plays. He plays in Kevin Sumlin's Air Raid offense during A&M's first season (2012) in the SEC.Manziel was given the nickname "Johnny Football" by fans and students at Texas A&M before the start of the 2012 season.
On December 8, 2012, he was announced as the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner, becoming the first freshman ever to win the award. He also became the first freshman to win the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award two days earlier. On January 4, 2013, Manzeil lead the Texas A&M Aggies to victory 41-13 against Oklahoma.
College career
2012 regular season
Texas A&M faced uncertainty at the quarterback position when Ryan Tannehill left for the National Football League after the 2011 season. Manziel performed well during Spring ball and fall practices and won the starting job over Jameill Showers and Matt Joeckel before the season began.[13] His first game was supposed to be against Louisiana Tech in Shreveport, LA on Thursday, August 30, 2012, but the game
was postponed until October 13 due to Hurricane Isaac hitting the Louisiana coast two days prior to game time.[14] Consequently, Manziel's college football debut was played as a redshirt freshman against the Florida Gators before a home crowd at Kyle Field.
Although Manziel began the season in relative obscurity, his play against Arkansas in which he broke Archie Manning's 43-year-old total offense record gained him some attention. Two games later, Manziel surpassed his own total offense record against #24 Louisiana Tech, becoming the first player in SEC history to have two 500+ total offense games in one season. After Texas A&M's blowout of Auburn in game eight in which Manziel accounted for 3 passing and 2 rushing touchdowns through only the first half plus one series in the second, Manziel began showing up in national Heisman Watch lists.
Manziel was launched into the national scene after he led Texas A&M to a 29-24 upset over #1 Alabama in Tuscaloosa, AL. In that game, Manziel accounted for 345 of A&M's 418 yards of offense, including two passing touchdowns. He also became only the 2nd freshman in NCAA history to pass for 200 and rush for 100 yards during the game. In following days, Manziel became the frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy
in most national watch lists and polls due to his performance during the game combined with other Heisman frontrunners faltering.
On November 24 during the game against the Missouri Tigers before a home crowd, Manziel left the game with an apparent knee injury late in the first quarter. He returned to the field for the next series of downs wearing a knee brace and finished the game with 439 yards of total offense, including 3 passing and 2 rushing touchdowns. During the game, he broke the single season record for offensive production in the SEC with 4600 yards, surpassing Cam Newton and Tim Tebow, notable recent Heisman Trophy winners. He also became the first freshman and only the fifth player in NCAA history to pass for 3000 and rush for 1000 yards in a season, reaching that mark two games earlier than any other player. Manziel was awarded the Davey O'Brien Award on December 6 and the Heisman Trophy on December 8, making him the first freshman ever to win either award.
2012 regular season
Texas A&M faced uncertainty at the quarterback position when Ryan Tannehill left for the National Football League after the 2011 season. Manziel performed well during Spring ball and fall practices and won the starting job over Jameill Showers and Matt Joeckel before the season began.[13] His first game was supposed to be against Louisiana Tech in Shreveport, LA on Thursday, August 30, 2012, but the game
was postponed until October 13 due to Hurricane Isaac hitting the Louisiana coast two days prior to game time.[14] Consequently, Manziel's college football debut was played as a redshirt freshman against the Florida Gators before a home crowd at Kyle Field.
Although Manziel began the season in relative obscurity, his play against Arkansas in which he broke Archie Manning's 43-year-old total offense record gained him some attention. Two games later, Manziel surpassed his own total offense record against #24 Louisiana Tech, becoming the first player in SEC history to have two 500+ total offense games in one season. After Texas A&M's blowout of Auburn in game eight in which Manziel accounted for 3 passing and 2 rushing touchdowns through only the first half plus one series in the second, Manziel began showing up in national Heisman Watch lists.
Manziel was launched into the national scene after he led Texas A&M to a 29-24 upset over #1 Alabama in Tuscaloosa, AL. In that game, Manziel accounted for 345 of A&M's 418 yards of offense, including two passing touchdowns. He also became only the 2nd freshman in NCAA history to pass for 200 and rush for 100 yards during the game. In following days, Manziel became the frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy
in most national watch lists and polls due to his performance during the game combined with other Heisman frontrunners faltering.
On November 24 during the game against the Missouri Tigers before a home crowd, Manziel left the game with an apparent knee injury late in the first quarter. He returned to the field for the next series of downs wearing a knee brace and finished the game with 439 yards of total offense, including 3 passing and 2 rushing touchdowns. During the game, he broke the single season record for offensive production in the SEC with 4600 yards, surpassing Cam Newton and Tim Tebow, notable recent Heisman Trophy winners. He also became the first freshman and only the fifth player in NCAA history to pass for 3000 and rush for 1000 yards in a season, reaching that mark two games earlier than any other player. Manziel was awarded the Davey O'Brien Award on December 6 and the Heisman Trophy on December 8, making him the first freshman ever to win either award.
