HOOVER, Ala. — When asked if he anticipated that winning the Heisman would place him on such a high pedestal, Johnny Manziel replied, “At the end of the day, I’m not going for the Miss America pageant. I’m playing football. I’m just a 20-year-old kid in college. Take that for what it’s worth.”
So now we know. He doesn’t aspire to be Miss Congeniality.
At some point, he also needs to realize its nonsensical to aspire to be just another 20-year-old kid in college. Johnny, take that for what it’s worth.
SEC media days are this week. For possibly the first time, the growing and somewhat mutating stature of a player has dwarfed any storyline involving a coach, a team or an NCAA investigation.
Maybe one day Manziel will get it. He’s not like any other kid on a college campus. That thing under his feet: It’s a stage. He can’t hang in a bar district, get into a fight, carry fake IDs and expect to fly under the radar with other 20-year-olds who might have done the same thing. He can’t get arrested for said offenses, plea to misdemeanors, require an appeal to overturn a suspension and expect that it won’t raise red flags about his future.
He can’t Tweet something whiny or stupid about wanting to get out of Texas A&M because of the microscope or a parking ticket — because he’s not just some nondescript sociology major.
Manziel needs to realize that he’s different. He’s special. When he burps, it’s news.
He can’t “oversleep” and be sent home from the Manning Passing Academy – excuse me: leave by “mutual decision” — because “my phone was dead” and “I was tired.”
(He wasn’t hung over. Got that? He was tired, dehydrated and maybe even a little under the weather. But definitely not hung over.)
(Wait. So when Manziel said later, “I’m disappointed in my own actions. I’m disappointed in myself,” was it merely a reference to not keeping his phone charged? Ah, never mind.)
The sooner Manziel grasps that the bar is higher for him, the better off he’ll be. He plays football in the SEC. He’s a starting quarterback for a national power. He has a model girlfriend. He’s the idol, The Man. He has celebrity friends and lives a celebrity life.
He also was the only “20-year-old college kid” scheduled to jet out of Birmingham so he could make it in time for the ESPY awards in Los Angeles.
“I’m a 20-year-old college kid — I’m just in a different spotlight,” Manziel said. “I’m not going to shy away from that. I’m not going to change. I’ll continue to adapt and learn from all this. But I don’t feel like I’m immature.”
At some point, he needs to understand: Nobody wants to hear about how difficult and stressful his life is. He sought this. The success, the fame, the rewards. He lost the chance to blend long ago.
Manziel was correct when he stated, “I’ve made mistakes. But I haven’t done anything that’s catastrophic.”
The Manning camp incident, regardless of the truth (duh), was embarrassing. But it doesn’t diminish his remarkable accomplishments as a freshman. The closest thing to a “serious” offense was the recent revelation that he initially was suspended before his freshman season following a June 2012 arrest for a fight and providing false identification to police. He nearly transferred to a junior college. But he appealed the suspension and was reinstated, just before the season. In his plea agreement, he agreed to pay a fine, court costs and two nights in jail (waived because he was jailed immediately following the arrest).
But let’s not make this kid out to be Stephen Garcia yet (the former oft-suspended quarterback at South Carolina).
If he has significant issues in the areas of maturity or partying, we’ll know soon enough. The more immediate question is how quickly Manziel grasps his situation.
He’s certainly ready to move on.
“I’m ready to stop after this,” he said of interviews on non-football matters. “Let’s just go play football. Lets let that do the talking for us, just like last year.”
Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin doesn’t seem concerned about the potential ripple effect of this offseason.
“He’s done some things that he’s not proud of,” he said. “He’s made some poor decisions. He’s made some good decisions. Unfortunately, the poor decisions are the ones that are really publicized.”
Say this for Manziel: He navigated the media meat grinder as well as could be expected – actually, better. He was well prepared for the assault.
He said, “Speculation about me being too hung over” at the Manning camp is “absolutely incorrect.” Missing meetings “had nothing to do with activities the night before. Just a really busy schedule in June and July. I probably bit off more than I can chew.”
He side-stepped a direct question about whether he was drinking. Whatever. So do most underage drinkers. It’s just most don’t have to spend a July day in front of over 1,000 media members and television cameras.
Look around, Johnny: You’re not just another college kid.
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