Johnny Manziel’s dad worries that ‘it could all come unraveled’
By Josh Sanchez
The media has been reporting Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Johnny Manziel’s every move since he was the winner of the Heisman Trophy as a redshirt freshman. We have learned that Manziel has a reputation and loves partying and that has caused many to wonder about whether or not Manziel will be able to handle the spotlight in the NFL.
While we are all sharing those thoughts and concerns, Manziel’s father, Paul, spoke to Wright Thompson of ESPN the Magazine and opened up about what could come of Johnny Football if he stays on his current path.
Paul Manziel seems less worried about why his son is partying and living like a typical college student, but he does have a concern that the pressure could cause his son to snap.
“Yeah, it could come unraveled. And when it does, it’s gonna be bad. Real bad,” Paul Manziel said. “It’s one night away from the phone ringing, and he’s in jail. And you know what he’s gonna say? ‘It’s better than all the pressure I’ve been under. This is better than that.’”
Paul says that he is concerned his son’s anger issues could cause everything to go spinning out of control, especially when you combine them with the drinking that he has been spotted doing on multiple occasions.
“I don’t know where the anger comes from,” Paul said. “I don’t think he knows. If it comes from his drinking, or if he’s mad at himself for not being a better person when he fails, when he fails God and his mom and me. If it makes him angry that he’s got demons in him. You can only speculate because you can’t go in there.”
Perhaps the most interesting part of Paul’s interview was that he implied Texas A&M is not doing to help Johnny Football and provide him with the guidance that he needs.
“He still needs to see he’s wrong — and how to control his temper. And if I give up on him, who’s gonna take over?” he said. “The school sure the hell isn’t gonna do it.”
All of this could lead to Manziel leaving the Aggies following this season to enter the 2014 NFL Draft.
Hopefully for Johnny and Paul Manziel, the pressure will not be too much and he can keep his cool off the field. He also needs to find a way to better handle the spotlight so that his attitude doesn’t scare of NFL franchises.
Manziel has plenty of pressure going in to the season, but the load will only get heavier as Texas A&M continues to win, so head coach Kevin Sumlin and the entire program needs to hope that Manziel can hold it together and not snap.