Report: Texas A&M Preparing for Johnny Manziel to Enter 2014 NFL Draft
By Josh Hill
Johnny Football took college football by storm last season but we may only get one more year of it before Johnny Football turns pro. According to a report in the San Antonio New-Express, the Texas A&M Aggies are preparing for life after Johnny Manziel, as they’re expecting him to enter the 2014 NFL Draft and ride his streak of success to the highest level.
“With the uncertainty of Johnny’s situation because of the way the NFL is going — his stock is rising,” said Aggies offensive coordinator Clarence McKinney at a Houston A&M Club function this week.
Manziel still has three years of NCAA eligibility left but the Aggies are hardly expecting him to stick around for three full seasons let alone stay through his senior year. There’s no denying the rise of his stock as well, as the mobility of the NFL and it’s future with guys like Robert Griffin III, Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick prove that the league is getting faster and Manziel’s dashing style of play is quickly becoming the norm.
You also have to look at this from Manziel’s standpoint as well. He’s already won a Heisman Trophy, he’s got a bombshell model girlfriend, he’s in the stratosphere of the most popular conference on Earth and he’s got a Cotton Bowl under his belt. The allure of winning a National Championship tends to ground players in college football longer than they otherwise would have stayed — just look at A.J. McCarron who’s going for not one but his third national title this upcoming season.
Consider also that Manziel has already solidified his legacy a A&M by becoming the first freshman in the history of the NCAA to win a Heisman, so anything he accomplishes after this is simply icing on the cake.
Manziel isn’t quite a first round lock at this point in his career but a solid season at A&M in 2013 as well as growth as a passer will help his stock go even higher than it already is. The success of RG3, Wilson and Kaepernick have made teams hungry for that type of mobile quarterback and Manziel has the raw skills of being in that mold.
The quickness of success those three quarterbacks had also greatly help Manziel’s NFL prospects. But college football players that rule the worlds they live in are starving for the highest stage and that’s the NFL, and even if he could use a little more time to develop at the college level, if someone’s going to pay him to play int he NFL Johnny Manziel is not going to think twice about taking that offer.
What we’re left with though, is wondering if Johnny Manziel taking his talents to the NFL after two years at A&M is really that great of an idea.