Since Johnny Manziel left Texas A&M two years ago the program has had 3 starting quarterbacks. None of them are currently at the University.
Manny thought Kenny Hill would be the next great A&M star but he flamed out midway thru his first season and later transferred. Last season the team had two promising prospects but A&M struggled down the stretch and in December both Kyle Allen and Kyler Murray both transferred as well.
Many have speculated about the culture surrounding the program and head coach Kevin Sumlin but few have been able to figure out the exact problem. The before mentioned Allen sheds some light into the problems.
“I think the culture was a big part of it, and I think that stems from Johnny’s era there — the way that they let Johnny and [others] act there,” said Allen, the No. 1-rated pro-style quarterback in the 247Sports Composite for 2014. “They [could] do that and still win games because they had Johnny … and five offensive linemen playing in the NFL right now.”
“A lot of people were riding off that, ‘I can do whatever the hell I want and win on Saturday.'”
Allen went on to talk about how the example set by Manziel’s era is still affecting the program.
“When you don’t have players like Johnny and [others] there anymore, you have to really come together as a team and scrap for wins,” Allen said.
“We had a lot of people who were talking about the same goal but weren’t all committed and on the same page to get to that goal,” Allen said.
“For you to win in the SEC — especially the SEC West — 10 games a year and be a controlling powerhouse in that conference, you can’t have a bunch of people going different ways.
“Everyone wasn’t in a straight line. Everyone was going this way, this way, this way. We had a ton of talent there. I think that, once you get all the right coaches there and get the vision right, you can do a lot of things.”
A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin received a lot of praise for what he did during the Manziel error but it’ll be what he does now that defines him as a coach because rebuilding a program’s culture is one of the toughest things to do in sports.
