SUPERMANZIEL
Copyright 12/12/12
Johnny Football or Johnny Heis-Manziel is a 20 year old kid who became the first freshman to start at quarterback for Texas A&M in the past 70 years. He not only beat the number one team in the nation but he ran for more yards than any running back in the nation's best conference. And, oh yeah, he also completed passes with more efficiency than any other quarterback in the SEC.
Wow!
And he probably wasn't even using a third of coach Klingsbury's entire playbook!
I don't see the Aggies losing another game as long as Mr. Football is their signal caller. And, Ya' know, money should no longer be an issue to keep him from going pro. He has punched his own ticket to be financially secure for the rest of his natural life. You see, in the city of College Station, Texas, this freshman is now a living legend. He walks on water. He can do no wrong. He can do whatever he wants forever and for always.
I think that Verne Lundquist's call of a third and goal situation for Texas A&M on the Alabama 10 yard line really say's it all.
What Verne is saying is that you can have the best defense in the history of college football and you simply cannot defend what Mr. Football can do. If "Neon Deon" Sanders was chasing him, he would have to have a really good angle in order to catch him.
We thought that Cam Newton and RG III were the best running and passing quarterbacks anyone had ever seen. No, No they were not!
There was some discussion that a middle linebacker would win the Heisman trophy over a freshman, or that it would be close. It was not close but during that discussion I made the following point: Manti Te'o is a phenomenal player, and he is why Notre Dame is undefeated, but I am pretty sure Alabama is happy to face him for the national championship. And, Alabama thinks they will win that game. And, so does everyone else. And, there are about 6 other teams that would like to play in that game. And, they all think they could beat Notre Dame.
On the other hand, what team wants to play Mr. Football in January?
And, is there a team in the country that realistically thinks they could beat him?
If you think about it, he turned the ball over three times against LSU and they still barely beat A&M. If you take back one interception in that game, then A&M is playing Notre Dame for the National Championship. And they are heavily favored to win that game.
OK, but what about the eye test? Skip Bayless analyzes football until he is blue in the face but then he sometimes just says, "But what about the eye test?"
He means, "When you watch Mr. Football play, forgetting about all the amazing stats, does he simply LOOK like Superman?"
Ahhh....Skip, yes, yes he does.
My personal experience watching him this past season was different from my experience watching any other person in any other season in my 48 years of watching football. It is hard to describe this difference so I will provide a few little snippets that might give a glimpse of how I felt.
Third downs were just not the same. I live in Denver and I have been watching Peyton Manning on third downs. Even watching a living legend like him there is some part of me that is thinking, "I hope we can convert this."
With Johnny I am thinking, "Alright, focus...here comes a great play."
That tinge of risk I usually feel on third downs is gone. There is no part of me that feels he will not convert. No, in fact, I'm certain that he will convert easily. Not just easily but in a thrilling kind of way. On third down I sit up in my seat because I know something fun is about to be witnessed.
Even after 6 turnovers against Ole Miss, I felt certain that A&M was going to win the game.
At the Heisman ceremony his idol Doug Flutie was asked, "Do you see yourself in him?"
Doug answered, "Well, maybe scrambling around and passing, a bit, but I used to make 20 yard runs. This kid busts 80 yard runs. I could never do that."
A&M has drawn a 10-2 Oklahoma team in the Cotton Bowl on Jan 4. The thing is...I feel zero fear at all. Instead, I am wondering how many Cotton Bowl records will be broken by the most amazing player I have ever seen.
The Yell leaders at Texas A&M even made a new yell. The Johnny Football Aggie Yell
Gig'em!!
Wait...wow...I never thought I would live to see the day that Gig'em would seem like an understatement. Go Johnny Go...Go...Go Johnny Go...Johnny be good.
-Morgan Levy
Post script- 2013 Coton Bowl Classic Texas A&M 41 Oklahoma 13
