Every time it was a different quarterback but it was same exact results. I watched the years with McNeal, next up was McGee, then he gave the reigns to Johnson, and then Tannehill led the team. All these guys were decent quarterbacks but none of them had that swagger or that wow factor to them. Tannehill had his moments where you thought there was potential but his senior year just led to second half collapses nearly every week.
In the year 2012 Texas A&M made a huge splash by moving to the Southeastern Conference. At the time A&M took a lot of heat for this move. People criticized the move saying A&M would get their butts handed to them by Alabama or LSU. Little did they know that for the first time in a long time, Aggie football was about to take off.
Right after the 2011 regular season A&M decided to fire their head coach Mike Sherman. Sherman led the Aggies to a 6-6 record but was infamously known for losing games during the second half. Even though Sherman was fired he still left his mark on Aggie football with his recruiting. Luckily for the 12th Man, Sherman drafted a kid by the name of Johnny Manziel out of Kerville, Texas.
2012 was a year of learning and a fresh start for the Aggies. A&M opened the season off against their first SEC foe Florida at a sold out Kyle Field. The summer before was a time of rebuilding for the team. They had just hired Kevin Sumlin out of Houston to take over the head coaching duties and were looking for the right quarterback to start off the season. In a four quarterback battle for the starting job, Manziel came out on top.
The Johnny Manziel move was a bit surprising to fans. Throughout the whole off-season Jameill Showers had been thought to be the favorite for the starting job. That assumption was strengthened when Johnny Manziel was arrested due an outside bar fight in College Station. However, Coach Sumlin still gave the job to Johnny Football and let him run the show.
Johnny Football surprised Aggieland that day of opening SEC play. Even though the Aggies lost, Manziel came out firing and people were really excited about the future of Aggie football. A&M managed to get an easy win the next week with a 48-3 victory over the Mustangs of SMU. Their next game lined up was against South Carolina State. Although this was easy win, this game has a lot of significance to me. This happened to be the first A&M game I got to see Manziel up close and in person. That day I watched the future legend of Aggieland run wild. It was magnificent just watching the way the guy could roll out of the pocket and extend the play like it was no problem. My Dad and I would joke around saying how this guy would win the Heisman this year and take everyone by surprise. The Aggies went on to win their next five out of six games. Then came the game where everything changed for Johnny Manziel.
On November 10 the #15 ranked Aggies made a road trip to play #1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. At the time Bama was the defending National Champion and was heavily favored to repeat. The Aggies soon pulled out to a 21-0 lead. The second half was a shootout but Johnny Manziel was able to lead the Ags to a 29-24 upset over the Crimson Tide.
Johnny Manziel closed out the regular season with victories over Sam Houston State and Missouri. Manziel was able to edge out Manti Te'o and Collin Klein to win 2012 Heisman Trophy. He had been the first Aggie to win the Heisman trophy since 1957. Soon afterwards Texas A&M accept a bid to play their former Big 12 opponent OU. On January 4 in Arlington, Texas the Aggies ran wild on the Sooners. Johnny set a bowl record with 512 total yards. Then came the treacherous and long off-season of 2013.
Ever have those days where you just wake up and nothing seems to go your way? That was nearly everyday for Texas A&M fans during the off-season of 2013. Manziel was first under heavy scrutiny when he got in a little scruff with a grad assistant during Texas A&M's spring game. From there on out it didn't get much better. You couldn't turn on a sports network without hearing about Manziel doing something. Whether it was getting kicked out of the Manning Passing Academy or showing up to a frat party wearing a Tim Tebow jersey. Johnny was the most loved and hated celebrity in all of sports. The worst of the off-season was the autograph scandal. ESPN's own Joe Schad and Darren Rovall reported that Johnny was signing autographs in exchange for money. The NCAA conducted an investigation on Johnny and Texas A&M and was only able to find enough evidence to suspend Manziel for the first half of the season opener against Rice.
I had the honor of watching seven out of the eight home games at Kyle Field this season. One memory that sticks out to me unlike any other is when Manziel took the field for the second half against Rice. Kyle Field was pure bedlam. Chants of "Johnny" broke out all across the stadium. The feeling was surreal. The Aggies were able to win their season opener against Rice and then got a win the next week against Sam Houston State. Then came the rematch. The Alabama Crimson Tide came to town seeking revenge. Unfortunately the Aggie defense couldn't stop the Alabama offense and the Crimson Tide were able to return to Tuscaloosa with a 49-42 victory. However, Johnny was able to to throw for 464 yards and 5 touchdown passes. The rest of the season wasn't the expectations Aggie had on their minds.
A&M was able to win their next 3 games before losing to the Auburn Tigers. Manziel was partly injured during the game but was still able to throw for 454 yards and 4 touchdowns while running one in as well. A&M was able to win their next three against Vanderbilt, UTEP, and Mississippi State. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the Mississippi State game but one part of Johnny's time that is tattooed in my brain was after the game he ran out into the stands to join the 12th Man to sing the Aggie War Hymn for one last time at Kyle Field.
The next two weeks were a nightmare for the Aggies. Manziel was constantly battling injuries and could not get any help from the defense which was quite a common occurrence throughout the season. The Aggies lost the next two games against LSU and Mizzou. Johnny put up the numbers of any regular quarterback and Aggieland's spirits were dampened. The Aggies next test was the Chick Fil A Bowl against a hot Duke team.
When it was announced A&M was playing Duke most Aggies were fairly confident in their team. Duke had been the ACC Coastal Champions but were lit up by Jameis Winston and the Florida State Seminoles during the final game of the regular season. When New Years Eve rolled around, Johnny Football took the field for what many speculated would his last time in an Aggie uniform. The game started off as an disaster for the fightin' farmers. Duke was able to torch the Aggie defense and take a 38-17 lead over the Aggies at halftime. The second half was a bit different. Johnny helped spark a comeback and with a little help from the defense, the Aggies were able to win 52-48. Not only was it a great ending to the Johnny Manziel era in Aggieland but it was also a great way to come together and play as a team. This was the first time in school history that A&M was able to win three straight bowl games. Today Johnny Manziel declared that he would be entering the 2014 NFL draft.
So what will the legacy of Johnny Manziel be as he makes the next step to the NFL? Maybe he will be a Tim Tebow and not live up to the potential. Maybe he will be a Russell Wilson and show us size does not matter. Maybe to some people his legacy will just be the guy who likes to party all the time. But the legacy he left in Aggieland is something that is overwhelming. He's the most exciting player I've gotten the chance to watch and I am lucky that I was able to see him live and in person so many times. So I thank you Johnny Football. Thank you for putting A&M on the map. Thank you for giving it all on the field. Thank you for making Aggie football fun to watch. Thanks and Gig'Em!
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