Have we seen the last of Johnny Manziel? For the sake of college football fans, let’s hope not. Tuesday night, Manziel’s Texas A&M squad took on Duke in the Chic-fil-A Bowl, and boy, was it a dandy.
Facing a 38-17 shellacking at the half, the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner and his Aggies teammates got a gut check. Surely an SEC power can’t lose to Duke…right?
Like most of the season, Manziel had to carry the team on his back with very little help from his defense. Fans, you know Johnny Football, but meet Johnny Comeback.
Manziel was in the zone, completing 30 of 38 passes for 382 yards and 4 touchdowns to finish the game. He also gave the audience the play of the night. Down at Duke’s 17 yard line, Manziel dropped back to pass, scrambled in the background under pressure, jumped over a Duke linemen, then pedaled backwards before finally lobbing a touchdown pass to Travis Labhart.
Still down, 41-31, Texas A&M responded with a Manziel rushing touchdown to cut it to three. After a Duke touchdown to boost the lead back to 10, right on cue, Manziel wasted no time, tossing a 44 yard touchdown pass to make it 48-45 with under six minutes to go. Surprisingly, Manziel wouldn’t need to pull any more tricks out of his hat to complete the comeback. Texas A&M took the lead for good after Tony Hurd Jr. intercepted a pass from Duke’s Anthony Boone and took it all the way for a pick six which lead to the final score of 52-48.
Now that the season is over, all that is left is speculation on whether or not Johnny Football enters the NFL Draft. It is likely that we saw the last of Manziel in an Aggie uniform but what a sad sight that would be if that proves to be the case. Johnny Football is a brand and whether you buy into the villain role that the media has portrayed or enjoy watching him dazzle us on the gridiron, he is without a doubt among the most popular and successful players to ever play college football. He may be viewed as a modern version of Karate Kid’s Johnny Lawrence, but in his only two years of playing he combined for nearly 10,000 (9,989) total yards in rushing and passing and 93 total touchdowns. Take a second to let those numbers sink in.
Manziel’s two years have been sensational and unparalleled. Being the first freshman to ever win the Heisman trophy speaks volumes. His 2012 season is incomprehensible. He didn’t put up bogus stats in a gimmick offense. He was the real deal. He showed us everything — and dare I say, he passed the ‘eye test’ in cementing his career as the best college quarterback to ever play the game.
It was nice knowing you, Johnny.
Houston Texans, you’re now on the clock…..
Joshua Caudill is a writer for CraveOnline Sports, a surfing enthusiast, a college sports fanatic, and an expert on all things Patrick Swayze. You can follow him on @JoshuaCaudill85 or “like”CraveOnline Sports on Facebook.
Photo Credit: Getty
