‘Johnny Football’ lifts A&M

Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel (2) throws a pass during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game against South Carolina State, Saturday, Sept. 22, 2012, in College Station, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel (2) throws a pass during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game against South Carolina State, Saturday, Sept. 22, 2012, in College Station, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

— Freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel has been getting the ball into the end zone for Texas A&M and not giving it to the other team.

Manziel, a redshirt freshman, has accounted for 12 touchdowns without a turnover in his first three starts going into the Aggies’ game against Arkansas on Saturday at College Station, Texas.

“I think for a first-year starter, a redshirt freshman, we’ve been pleased with his development since the spring,” first-year Texas A&M Coach Kevin Sumlin said. “There are a lot of things he can do better. He’d be the first to admit that, but he’s operated very well, I think.

“He’s taken care of the ball exceptionally well, and he continues to develop as a passer.”

Manziel, the first freshman to start an opener at quarterback for Texas A&M since 1944, has completed 58 of 86 passes (67.4 percent) for 641 yards and 7 touchdowns and rushed 38 times for 262 yards and 5 touchdowns.

As a senior at Kerrville (Texas) Tivy High School, he passed for 45 touchdowns and rushed for 30, then chose to sign with Texas A&M over Oregon. He’s gone through two spring practices - one under Mike Sherman and one under Sumlin - after enrolling at Texas A&M in January of 2011.

“The biggest transition for Johnny has been to move from an athlete that’s playing quarterback to a quarterback that’s an athlete,” Sumlin said. “That’s what he’s working on, that’s what we’re working on.

“He can throw it, he can run around, he can scramble. But obviously for us to be effective, he’s got to be able to do all those things at a high level. I think the biggest compliment I can give him is how he has really led the team and taken care of the football.”

Manziel was supposed to make his college debut against Louisiana Tech on Aug. 30, but that game was postponed until Oct. 13 because of Hurricane Isaac, so Manziel made his first start against Florida in the SEC opener.

The Gators won 20-17, but Manziel completed 23 of 30 passes for 173 yards and rushed 17 times for 60 yards and a touchdown.

He threw four touchdown passes and rushed for two touchdowns in the Aggies’ 48-3 victory at SMU, then passed for 178 yards and 3 touchdowns and rushed 8 times for 78 yards and 2 touchdowns while playing the first half when Texas A&M beat South Carolina State 70-14 last week.

“Johnny’s a play maker, and he’s going to make plays with his feet and his arm,” Texas A&M center Patrick Lewis told reporters after Manziel passed for 294 yards and rushed for 124 against SMU. “You’ve got to keep blocking, because he’ll make plays when there are no plays to be made.

“I guess that’s why they named him ‘Johnny Football.’ ”

Aggies receiver Uzoma Nwachukwu told reporters another nickname for Manziel is “Captain Amazing” considering his play so far.

“It’s a growing legend going on,” said Nwachukwu, who has caught four of Manziel’s touchdown passes.

The Aggies are asked about Manziel a lot because Sumlin doesn’t allow freshmen to do interviews.

“Some of the stuff he does is amazing,” Texas A&M linebacker Jonathan Stewart said after the SMU game. “You would have thought he was back in high school the way he was running around.”

Sumlin named Manziel the starting quarterback midway through preseason practice to increase his work with the first-team offense and to help Manziel and the Aggies get used to him being a team leader.

“He’s growing into that,” Sumlin said. “We don’t huddle much, so his communication is key when we have the ball, and it’s really forced him into a leadership role.

“I think just watching him play and talking with him on the sideline, seeing his demeanor, how he interacts with our players, that role has been accelerated over the last couple weeks.”

Sumlin said that when Manziel scrambles, he’s doing a better job of keeping his eyes down field so he can find receivers who break open.

“I think he’s learning that he’s no longer the fastest guy on the field,” Sumlin said. “There are a lot of great athletes in this conference, and he found that out against Florida.

“We’ll have designed runs for him, but when he breaks the pocket he still needs to know he’s a quarterback. I think he’s learning that.”

Information for this article was contributed by The Dallas Morning News and Houston Chronicle.

Texas A&M (2-1, 0-1 SEC)

Sept. 8 Florida L 20-17

Sept. 15 at SMU W 48-0

Sept. 22 S. Carolina State W 70-14

Sept. 29 Arkansas

Oct. 6 at Ole Miss

Oct. 13 at Louisiana Tech

Oct. 20 LSU

Oct. 27 at Auburn

Nov. 3 at Mississippi State

Nov. 10 at Alabama

Nov. 17 Sam Houston State

Nov. 24 Missouri

Sports, Pages 15 on 09/25/2012

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