God threw out Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden after they ate the apple from the Tree of Knowledge. Now the Football Gods and the NCAA are trying to throw out Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel after signing autographs for money and for earning an unsportsmanlike conduct flag in Texas A&M’s game versus Rice on August 31st. Manziel was benched after that flag by Head Coach Kevin Sumlin. Prior to that, Manziel was suspended for the first half of the Rice game for gaining money for his John Hancock on footballs and helmets. The former Heisman Trophy winner has had a shaky off-season and the drama is continuing to follow him into the season and is bringing more than needed attention to his team.
Manziel has had the off-season to forget, ever since he received the Heisman he has had the spotlight on him in a bad way. Manziel was asked to leave the Peyton Manning Quarterbacks camp. He said it as due to being sick, but this was just the start of Manziel’s nightmare off-season. He was questioned for having courtside seats and a Miami Heat basketball game, which his parents bought for him as a gift. During the SEC (Southeastern Conference) Media Day Manziel was drilled with different questions about his party life, his different suspicions by the NCAA, and why he left the Manning Quarterbacks camp. Manziel answered the media but as different criticism began to pour in on Twitter from around the country, Manziel responded to these tweets in an arrogant way. Just when Manziel thought this would be over, videos began to surface of Manziel signing hundreds of memorabilia. When the NCAA found out they sought to suspend Manziel, but they were not able to find enough evidence to suspend for a long time, they suspended him for the first half of the Rice game. This finally seemed to be the end for Manziel and everything would just go away and he could just focus on football.
As soon as Manziel stepped on the field, he showed us who he really was–a very electrifying player that can change the game in an instant with his dual threat attributes. Manziel showed us plays and put up stats that a person could only do in a videogame. Manziel also showed us why he has been under so much scrutiny with his unsportsmanlike conduct in the Rice game which benched him for the rest of the game. Many thought that this would affect him and his whole team going into what seemed to be the National Championship in the middle of September. This game was at home against the two-time defending National Champs the Crimson Tide of Alabama who Manziel beat last year to put himself on the map. Manziel showed a lot of Heisman Trophy candidate plays like a pass that was the second longest pass in school history for 95 yards to Evans for a touchdown. He also showed a lot of head scratching plays, two of those being interceptions which one was returned for a touchdown. Overall, Manziel did his part to help his team with by completing 28 of 39 passes, 464 passing yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. After the 49-42 loss Manziel said, “Our season is not over. It is not over by a long shot. Alabama lost to us a year ago and they still won the national championship. Two years ago they lost to LSU and they still found a way to win the national championship. If we win the rest of our games then we have to believe we can get to the big game.”
Manziel showed everyone that even with the NCAA keeping a close eye on him he continues to put up Heisman Trophy numbers no matter the opponent. No matter how many times the NCAA tries to throw out Manziel from the Garden of Heisman, he will always come back.