In the midst of Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel winning the Heisman Trophy and changing the way freshman will be looked at forever, we still must remember Johnny Football is only 20 years old.
Whether we want to accept it or not, the same Manziel who is dating models, watching Mavs games courtside, and is now a flat-out celebrity, was the same dude arrested last summer for a bar fight.
Manziel will garner attention everywhere he goes, and get shots like the one he received from Oklahoma defensive coordinator Mike Stoops who said Manziel will win 3 Heisman’s if they can keep him out of prison.
In light of those comment from a coach Manziel lit up 2 weeks ago, College Football Talk is reporting that Texas A&M athletic director Eric Hyman recently sat Manziel’s parents down to talk to them about perils of off the field attention, and how a Heisman Trophy winner is supposed to act.
“I told them he’s no longer a freshman, and he’s no longer a sophomore, junior or senior,” Hyman told the paper. “He is a ‘Heisman. …
“It’s (about) education, and we’ve got to help the family and Johnny with the transition into being a Heisman award winner. There are things you have to learn, and we have to help him with that.”
All the attention that comes with it is “a tremendous responsibility — but it is a responsibility.”
I commend Hyman for helping the parents understand that Manziel who is from a small Texas town is now recognizable everywhere in this county.
He’s not going to be perfect and doesn’t have to, but he does need to watch what he does, and who does it with. One thing is for certain, the one thing we like to do in this country more than build a person up, is start to tear them down.