Even with Johnny Manziel more than 700 miles away in Cleveland — or wherever he happened to be on Tuesday — Kevin Sumlin couldn’t get away from his controversial former quarterback.
Sumlin’s first question at SEC Football Media Days on Tuesday was what it is like to NOT coach Manziel. The third one was whether he’d had a chance to talk Manziel since his most recent display of questionable off-field behavior and, if so, what did he tell him?
“That’s a great question,” Sumlin said, pausing for effect, “about the Cleveland Browns. Anybody else got something?”
And so it goes with Sumlin and the Aggies. Their third year in the SEC is being characterized as “Life after Johnny.” And if anything is already evident, it’s that it is going to be very, very different.
You can start with Tuesday’s atmosphere surrounding the Aggies at the Hyatt Regency Wynfrey Hotel. This time last year, Manziel’s mere presence was a media frenzy. He was coming off a weekend in which he’d been booted from the Manning Passing Academy for over-sleeping after a late-night of partying.
This year, Sumlin was accompanied by a punter, an offensive lineman and a safety who few outside of College Station could name. The main ballroom where the group met the print media was only two-thirds full, as opposed to the standing-room-only capacity that met them last year.
“Yeah, I guess it’s more quiet,” senior offensive tackle Cedric Ogbuehi said. “But two years ago, before he became ‘Johnny Football,’ it was quiet also. So it’s really not a big deal to us.”
Said Sunlin: “You know, college football is a lot different than the NFL,” Sumlin said. “Really great NFL teams have a core group of players that they keep, then a satellite group that kind of bounces in and out, and they keep winning. The difference in college football is every two or three years you’re going to have turnover and you have to plan for that.”
And A&M’s turnover has been significant. Beyond Manziel, the Aggies also lost All-Americans Jake Matthews and Mike Evans at offensive tackle and wide receiver, respectively. They lost 10 starters and 20 lettermen overall.
“It’s difficult losing Johnny,” said punter Drew Kaser, one of three team representatives the Aggies brought.” At the same time, it’s difficult losing three All-Americans like Johnny, Jake and Mike.”
But they’re also not bereft of talent, at quarterback or any other position.
The Aggies’ options to replace Manziel are good ones. Sophomore Kenny Hill played whenever Texas A&M rested their star quarterback last season and has been generally considered the heir apparent. Simlarly mobile and standing 6-1 and weighing 215 pounds, he is thought of as a slightly larger version of Manziel.
But then there is also freshman Kyle Allen. The 5-star recruit and No. 1-ranked quarterback prospect enrolled early and was impressive in spring ball. He’s 6-2.5, weighs 210 and, as a pro-style quarterback, represents a departure from Manziel. He further enhanced his status after Hill was arrested for public intoxication last March.
Another quarterback candidate, Matt Joeckel, transferred to TCU on the offseason.
The question now is how different the Aggies’ offensive might look without the always-ad-libbing Manziel under center, or in the shotgun.
“We understand, I understand, there’s not going to be another Johnny Manziel, the way he played the game,” Sumlin said. “That’s part of it. Now does that mean we change offensively? Maybe. does that mean we changed for him offensively? That might be the case, too. What we have done is go out and recruit very, very well to a system we believe in.”
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