Johnny Manziel Wins The 2012 Heisman Trophy Award

When Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel stepped into the Heisman spotlight on Saturday he wore a wide grin. But when he was announced as the winner of the 78th Heisman Trophy at Manhattan's Best Buy Theater, his mouth was agape.
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Manziel, 20, became the first freshman to win college football's most prestigious award.
A few freshmen came close. Usually they were players with athletic talent beyond their years, Herschel Walker in 1980, Adrian Peterson in 2004, and Michael Vick, to whom Manziel is often compared, in 1999. Each was beat out by upperclassmen, and effectively told to wait their turn.
Not Manziel.
"I always had the mind-set: I want to be the biggest person in this offense and I want to be the catalyst, and the person that makes this thing run," he said Friday during a round-table discussion with the news media.
Manziel beat out Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o, who was looking to become the first strictly defensive player to win the award, and Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein.
Just months ago - before he emerged from relative obscurity - his Coach Kevin Sumlin had colored him careless with the football and his father, John Paul, said he was immature.
Amid a quarterback competition, Manziel struggled in spring practice, though Sumlin's offense was similar to what he ran in high school. Then in June, he was arrested after a fight outside a bar College Station, Tex., and then giving the police a fake ID.
He recognized he needed help and met with the quarterback guru George Whitfield Jr. to streamline his throwing mechanics, particularly on the run. By September, he was the starter for Texas A&M, still serving his punishment for the arrest, still appeasing Sumlin.
Yet, his name would not have registered much interest outside Texas.
Early in the season, he was rushing his game, taking off on the run at the first sign of trouble, instead of waiting patiently to throw. Florida and Louisiana State, two top-10 Southeastern Conference teams, corralled him and beat Texas A&M. A photo of him dressed as Scooby Doo with a scantily clad woman at a Halloween party went viral.
With each week, though, he matured, kept calm, and his reputation - as the fun-to-watch, running gunslinger known as Johnny Football - and swagger grew. So did a mystique. A team rule prohibited first-year players from speaking to the news media. The public could only judge him by his gyrating, chest-thumping, exhilarating plays.
"He's a human video game, that's my description of Johnny Football," said Te'o, who then imagined what that would be like and added, "You just run circles with him as a quarterback and then you can either bomb it, or just outrun everybody and score."
Manziel did something like that to Alabama, who was ranked No. 1 and undefeated when Manziel produced 345 total yards, two touchdowns, a 29-24 upset, and enough gutsy plays that everyone would remember his name. His coaches were thrilled with more modest steps, like how he aptly audibled at the line of scrimmage.
"His approach to the game has never been that of a freshman," Kliff Kingsbury, Manziel's offensive coordinator, said. "He never thought the moment was too big, he never looked intimidated, he never felt like he didn't belong."
He added: "With the tenacity and the fearlessness that he showed, that's really contagious. You could just see it, the rest of the offense say, O.K., this guy, every time he takes a snap, we're going to have a chance to do something great."
The great moments piled up, and Manziel became the first freshman to throw for more than 3,000 yards and rush for more than 1,000 yards in the same season. His 4,600 total yards were more than recent Heisman winners, Cam Newton (2010) and Tim Tebow (2007).

[@joeburreaux7806]

Say what you want about Johnny Manziel’s NFL career but no doubt he will go down as one of the greatest college football players of all time

[@michaelh1974]

Facts

[@reaper_edits]

True

[@Boxing31]

Facts. Johnny killed that speech too. He just couldn’t out run the grip of alcohol.

[@polishedgem3041]

Carried by Mike evans

[@chubbs6907]

No other than JFF!!

[@sophiastone6056]

Still one of my all time favorite speeches 🙌🏼

[@joeburns6379]

The kid could sure play college football. Watch his Texas A&M highlights and be amazed.

[@josefsteiner9163]

He's from Kerrville TX where l live

[@PhelpsLife]

One of the best acceptance speeches of all time IMO.

[@hermanosJM]

Manziel and burrow are the best qb in college in the last 20 years.....

[@TylerEubank]

Agreed

[@LaBanane-rp7my]

Yes 2 whites guys

[@jamesworthy41.]

Facts

[@TylerEubank]

Truly the most remarkable CFB player and best CFB qb to ever do it. Can’t wait for his documentary

[@zahihussain2596]

Greatest speech of all time

[@monster21blog36]

The Heisman trophy legend👏👏

[@Babydrew32]

The moment he officially became the greatest QB to ever play football.

[@heaven1189]

Andrew Colantonio lol sike

[@GrimGriefer_]

AlohaRoast name another college football player that’s better than him?

[@heaven1189]

Sherman DaVinci what?

[@GrimGriefer_]

AlohaRoast name a college football player that’s better than him

[@GrimGriefer_]

AlohaRoast slow ass bitch

[@Layzee888]

Manti Te'o forgot to bring his gf that day 😂

[@josefsteiner9163]

Old joke your trash

[@MrJlo1017]

yo...2012 called. they want their joke back.

[@raelockletree3858]

@@MrJlo1017 LMFAO😂

[@Lukester1234]

You regret this joke now?

[@cosmoshootings5852]

Crazy what happened to manti! love you man

[@jakewilson910]

I ❤ Johnny Manziel!!! He's like Michael Vick!!!

[@Camo_Shadow]

Mike Vick is leaps and bounds over Johnny Football

[@TylerEubank]

@@Camo_Shadow who beat who’s records tho? Manziel did. Tebow, Newton, Young, and Vick. He outplayed them all statistically. And we all know that as far as eye-candy goes, NO ONE was as sensational to watch on tv or in person as Johnny Football. No one.

[@christianloubardias6375]

Johnny said in a Netflix documentary about his personal life and career that after he got drafted by the Browns and had everything he wanted, he felt so empty and wanted nothing to do with football anymore

[@brodydon3]

Whatever johnny is focused on at that time he always does best at; 2012 was football so he was johnny football; in 2015 it was cocaine so he was JOhnny Cocaine....now its Johnny Cigarette but whatever he goes by if i had the choice to party with anyone it would be Johnny Football...over anyone even guys that are dead ...hes a mans man no front put on and if he wouldve used half of his partying mindset toward film study and preparing his body for the NFL he wouldve been special for at least a couple of years

[@TheGuerillapatriot]

Doug Flutie!

[@matthewstein9808]

He had major cottonmouth but still a great speech!!

[@prosandconsfilms6933]

PHENOMENAL speech

[@The_Sandwich1984]

Listen, he was a good player but, "Hard work beats talent, when talent doesn't work hard" and also when everyone is reinforcing your bad play habits

[@matthewforbes2969]

Anyone here after watching the documentary?

[@Sleeper197]

I wonder if he was high

[@Evan-rj7gn]

Most definitely

[@Camo_Shadow]

Ya he probably was.

[@Pipsqueak-]

Def not.

[@Fuzzyd1ce_]

Definitely on xans

[@TylerEubank]

Can’t deliver a speech like that while impaired homie. That was up there with the best heisman speeches. Manziel was naturally a very well-spoken person, highly intelligent, quick-witted (look at what his ancestors did) and most of all unselfish as he deliberately credited the people around him and not just briefly.

[@ricosuave7905]

Should’ve shouted out Mike Evans. He was the real mvp of that team

[@joes3844]

The beginning of the end

[@cosmoshootings5852]

Just 2 days prior to this event he received a phone call from his so called “dead girlfriend”. I couldn’t imagine what he was going through at this time.

[@joeyd3781]

It was all downhill from there😬

[@mwcarolina]

Good speech, but as an nfl player he was one of the biggest busts. Mainly because he couldn’t stop partying