In 2012 Johnny Manziel became the first freshmen to win the Heisman Trophy and was given the cool nickname "Johnny Football" for his dramatic play on the field. With impressive wins over Alabama and Oklahoma Manziel evolved into a cult hero capturing the attention of millions of fans and the admiration of college football enthusiasts over the country. Did all of the success go to his head?
OF COURSE IT DID! HE'S A QUARTERBACK AND HE'S ONLY 20 YEARS OLD! To expect anything less would be extremely naïve. The media is expecting a level of maturity that simply doesn't exist at that age for most people.
On the flip side Johnny Football is going down a dangerous path. With the amount of scrutiny athletes face today every mistake is magnified. If he continues on his present course everything he's worked for and accomplished will vanish in an instant.
After NFL teams have experienced diminishing returns from the likes of Matt Leinart, Vince Young, and JeMarcus Russell work ethic and accountability are considered extremely important attributes for a field general. If there are any concerns teams will proceed with caution and most likely draft the player in question several rounds lower than their talent reflects.
Anyone that's ever been around a star quarterback knows the attention and accolades fuel their ego. I've known a few quarterbacks (Jason Stiles, Joel Deis, Billy Joe Hobert) and they can be a handful. Even the ones that don't win national championships or major awards (Joel Deis) can be difficult and arrogant at times. The good news is there's still plenty of time for Johnny Football to turn things around and fall back into everyone's good graces. His past issues are minimal at best and nothing of a criminal nature. Immaturity doesn't make you a bad person. Remember winning has a way of changing perspective very quickly.
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