Texas A&M Athletic Director Asks Johnny Manziel To Take Foot Off The Gas

Dillon Cheverere12 years ago

Johnny Manziel reminds me of a young Rob Gronkowski, and just like Gronk, Manziel is having too much fun for some people to handle.

The Patriots pulled the emergency brake last offseason on the runaway Summer of Gronk train to keep the debauching terror on the straight-and-narrow leading up to training camp, and it worked. Gronk’s charades quieted and his focus strayed from strange trim, nightclubs and pool parties back to football.

In a similar, preemptive fashion, Texas A&M Athletic Director Eric Hyman sat down with the Manziels to discuss Johnny’s recent reign as most talked about college football player ever during a single season, and not just for his play on the field, but for the fun he had off of it as well. Hyman wants to throw a blanket on the Johnny Football fire before it burns down all of College Station.

From USA Today:

Texas A&M athletics director Eric Hyman met with Johnny Manziel’s parents to discuss their son’s newfound fame, his recent brushes with gossip websites like TMZ.com and how he should deal with his growing responsibilities as a Heisman Trophy winner, reports Brent Zwerneman of the San Antonio Express-News.

“It’s (about) education, and we’ve got to help the family and Johnny with the transition into being a Heisman award winner,” said Hyman. “There are things you have to learn, and we have to help him with that.”

Said Hyman, “That’s a special fraternity, but you also have to understand (Manziel) is 20 years old. It’s a tremendous responsibility – but it is a responsibility.”

Yes, fraternity members are known to find trouble on occasion. This is well-documented. And now that he is a member of such an elite fraternity, and the spotlight is even brighter, it’s time for “last call.” He represents so much more than the name on his back now.

Also paralleling the Summer of Gronk, Manziel hasn’t really broken any rules per se. Gambling in an 18-and-up casino, holding champagne bottles, and sitting in a sporting arena’s most expensive seats are within rule, as long as adequate explanations go along with them — and they have. Manziel did manage to fit the lifetime bucket lists of 10 normal men into a single college semester, all while adhering to a strict, time-consuming college football regimen. Now it’s the offseason, and young Football’s calendar looks to be wide open.

I get it, though. Gotta protect that investment.

“I told (the Manziels) he’s no longer a freshman, and he’s no longer a sophomore, junior or senior,” Hyman recounted to Zwerneman. “He is a ‘Heisman.’ “

#TFTC

— Johnny Manziel (@JManziel2) January 6, 2013

[via USA Today]

Image via Deadspin