He takes the snap in the shotgun formation, drops back three steps and waits for the play to develop. He looks right: no one there, he looks left: no one there, the clock in his head is ticking down. He takes off to the right side, but two Alabama defensive linemen are there.
He cuts back to his left and tries to break to the middle of the field, to no avail. Bumping into one of his own offensive linemen, he loses control of the ball, which pops up into the air. As the ball pops out, he swivels his head to follow the path of the ball, turning around as it lands right back into his hands.
Suddenly, he feels pressure from his right side and scrambles to his left, looking for a receiver down field. With the Alabama linebacker two steps behind him, he continues to his left still looking for a receiver. Then, in an act of pure athleticism, he turns his torso toward the end zone, cocks his right arm back and lets the ball fly.
In the back of the end-zone, waiting for the football is wideout Ryan Swope, who catches the pass for a touchdown and raises his arms in disbelief of how Johnny Manziel, a freshman from a small town in Texas, could have made an incredible play like that. In that play and numerous others, Johnny “Football” Manziel demonstrated why he is the best player in college football, the worthy Heisman-trophy winner.
Every year in college football, on the first Saturday after the regular season ends, the Heisman trophy is presented to the best player in college football. This college football season has been unique, with the number one team holding the top spot for no more than two weeks straight, the Notre Dame “Fighting Irish” having an incredible season, and teams playing in new conferences making a name for themselves.
At the beginning of the season, Matt Barkley, the senior quarterback for the USC trojans was seen as the frontrunner. However, as USC lost a game early in the season, it became West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith’s trophy to lose, as he threw 24 touchdowns and no interceptions through his first four games of the season.
Then, after West Virginia lost five straight, Collin Klein, the versatile gunslinger from the Kansas State Wildcats, became the front runner. Coming into Waco on a roll to play the Baylor Bears, it looked as if Collin Klein had the Heisman all but locked up. But then the unthinkable happened: Klein threw three interceptions and K-State was demolished by the underdog Baylor Bears 55-24.
This game practically knocked Klein out of the Heisman race, as voters realized his throwing abilities weren’t nearly as good as they thought.
Then the race came down to two: Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o and Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel.
Te’o has led the dominating Notre Dame defense to an undefeated record and a berth in the national championship. “Johnny Football,” as he was nicknamed, has led the Aggies to an upset of then #1 ranked Alabama, and a #9 ranking in the BCS standings.
Now that both teams’ regular seasons have ended, Heisman voters can now look back at each player’s body of work and determine who the best player in college football really is. I think that this player should be Johnny Manziel.
Stats
A large part of determining the best player is looking at their stats. Manziel is a clear winner in this category. He has 4,600 total yards this season along with 43 touchdowns and only 8 interceptions. Of these 4,600 yards, 1,181 are rushing yards, a mind-boggling stat for a quarterback.
He also rushed for 19 touchdowns, while throwing for another 24. Furthermore, he is the only freshman in history to throw for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,000, and one of only five players, and the first from the SEC, to do it. He holds the record for the most rushing yards in a season by a freshman quarterback and is the SEC record holder for total yards in a season, breaking 2010 Heisman winner Cam Newton’s record. He holds the SEC record for most yards in a game with 576, actually breaking the previous record three different times throughout the season.
Comparatively, his total yards mark is higher than 2010 winner Cam Newton’s and 2007 winner Tim Tebow’s, who both played in the best conference in the country, the SEC.
His average of 383 yards per game, is more than than 43 teams in college football average per game.
As a freshman, he was named the Walter Camp player of the week twice, the SEC offensive player of the week three times, the All-American player of the week three times, and the SEC freshman player of the week nine times. These incredible facts and figures, head over heels better than his competitor Te’o’s, show that Johnny Football is the best player in the country.
The SEC Factor
Johnny Manziel accomplished these incredible stats while competing in the best conference in the country, the SEC. The past six national champions have come from the conference, showing its dominance over the opposition. This season is no different as 6 out of the top 10 teams in the BCS standings are from the SEC, including A&M.
The SEC is also known for the stellar, defense-inhibiting offensive players who dominate the game.
Johnny Football accomplished his mind-boggling stats while playing against three defenses ranked in the top 10: Florida (#9 defense overall), LSU (#3 defense) and Alabama (#1 defense). In his game versus Alabama, the then #1 team in the country, and the now #2 team, Johnny Manziel had 345 yards against its top-ranked defense, the most the Alabama defense gave up all season.
Additionally, he accomplished this on the road in the hostile environment of Alabama’s Bryant Denney Stadium.
Their non-conference schedule was nothing to laugh at either, as A&M played then #23 ranked Louisiana Tech (#1 offense in college football) and the bowl eligible SMU Mustangs. Furthermore, both of these game were on the road, and A&M proved victorious in each of them.
For the season as a whole, A&M played five teams ranked in the top 25.
The Freshman Factor
This year, a popular argument against Manziel is that since he is a freshman he shouldn’t win the award, because he has three more chances to win the award after this season.
They argue that since Te’o is a senior in his last season, he should win the award because this is his last year. History sides with Te’o, since 65 of the 76 winners have been seniors. No freshman has ever won the award, with Adrian Peterson coming the closest, finishing second place in 2004.
However, I think that being a freshman should actually give a player the edge. While Te’o had three years of experience playing in college football, Johnny Manziel dominated the game, without having ever taken a college snap before this year. By never playing a college game and then rushing onto the scene and dominating in the best conference in the nation, Manziel demonstrated the immense, inherent talent he has.
Importance to the Team
70%. This percentage might be the most important stat in Manziel’s Heisman campaign.
Johnny Manziel accounted for 70% of the Texas A&M offense this season, showing how he almost single-handedly led his team to a #9 BCS rating and a spectacular inaugural season in the SEC.
As a member of the less-than-stellar Big 12 conference in 2011, the Aggie team finished 7-6 (4-5 in conference), compared to the 2012 season in which they finished 10-2 (6-2 in conference) in the much more talented SEC. The difference between the two seasons: Johnny Manziel was the quarterback for the 2012 campaign.
Now, of course he didn’t do it all by himself; while he had help from new coach Kevin Sumlin, Manziel was undoubtedly a huge factor in this dramatic turnaround. Take away Manziel from the team and I would say the Aggies finish 7-6 at best, and would not be ranked.
I don’t think the same could be said about Manti Te’o. Te’o was a member of the Irish team that finished a disappointing 8-5 last season and also a member of the 2010 team that finished 8-5 as well. Based of these figures, Te’o didn’t single-handedly turn around a program as Manziel did, with the Irish turnaround coming from a combination of a new quarterback, an experienced head coach, and a stellar offense line.
Based of these various points, I think that Johnny Football Manziel should and will win the Heisman trophy this year. If the Heisman stays true to its name, then Manziel is a lock for the trophy.
“If the [Heisman Trophy] Award is going to be for the most outstanding football player, for the guy that makes the biggest difference, there is no question who that is. It’s Johnny Manziel… If you’re not thinking of voting for Johnny Manziel, then you’re nuts”
-Andy Staples, Sports Illustrated writer and Heisman voter
