It’s back to business for Manziel

HOOVER, Ala. - Johnny Manziel is ready to be Johnny Football again.

Texas A&M’s sophomore quarterback and the reigning Heisman Trophy winner said he can’t wait for the start of practice next Sunday after a hectic off-season, including several situations that brought his maturity level into question.

“There’s no more talk after this,” Manziel said at SEC media days, where he was surrounded by reporters. “Let’s play football and let our play do the talking for us like we did last year.”

Manziel’s play last season spoke so loudly that he became the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy while leading the Aggies to an 11-2 record - capped by a 41-13 victory over Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl - and No. 5 national ranking in their SEC debut.

Texas A&M was the only team to beat national champion Alabama, as Manziel accounted for 345 yards in total offense in the Aggies’ 29-24 victory at Bryant-Denny Stadium. On the season he passed for 3,706 yards and 26 touchdowns with 9 interceptions and rushed for 1,410 yards and 21 touchdowns.

Talk of Manziel being a Heisman Trophy contender began to sound realistic after he set an SEC record with 557 yards of total offense when the Aggies beat Arkansas 58-10 in the fourth game of theseason. The Razorbacks will get another shot at Manziel when Texas A&M plays at Reynolds Razorback Stadium on Oct. 28.

“I can’t make any predictions what he’ll do this season,” Aggies senior defensive back Toney Hurd said of what Manziel can do for an encore after winning the Heisman Trophy. “But I can tell you if you want to stop him, you might want to put 22 men on the field.”

While Manziel, 20, has seemed unstoppable on the field, he’s been tripped up at times off the field.

Earlier this summer he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge resulting from a fight outside a bar in College Station, Texas, a year ago. He also tweeted about how he couldn’t wait to get out of College Station - where Texas A&M is located - after getting a parking ticket.

Then there was the Twitter picture of him - posted by Manziel - holding a wad of money in an Oklahoma casino. “Nothing illegal about being 18+ in a casino and winning money … KEEP HATING!” Manziel tweeted.

During a spring break trip to Mexico, Manziel caused a stir by tweeting a picture of himself with a Texas Longhorn tattoo. It turned out to be a fake tattoo.

A few days before his appearance at SEC media days, Manziel drew more unwanted attention for leaving the Manning Passing Academy early after missing some assigned meetings and practices. Manziel said he overslept because his cell phone battery died, and he denied reports he had gotten drunk and was hung over.

Manziel’s off-season also included appearing on The Tonight Show and The Late Show with David Letterman, throwing out pitches at home games for the Texas Rangers and San Diego Padres, attending an NBA Finals game in Miami, talking with LeBron James and Chris Paul at NBA games in Dallas and Houston, playing golf at Peeble Beach with his parents and a duck hunting trip to Stuttgart with his father.

“We worked so hard last year, I think all of us deserve to have a little bit of fun - all of us,” Manziel said. “Maybe people did it in different ways. I’m enjoying my life and continuing to live my life to the fullest. I hope that doesn’t upset too many people.

“I haven’t done anything that I feel is catastrophic. Of course, I’ve made my mistakes, and as you live your life you’re going to continue to hit bumps in the road.”

Manziel said he was “ exhausted” and needed a break when he left the Manning camp early.

“It had nothing to do with activities the night before,” he said. “It was just a really busy schedule through the month of June and the month of July. I probably bit off a little bit more than I could chew. …. I wasn’t asked to leave. It was a mutual decision.”

While Manziel said he didn’t do anything wrong at the camp, he apologized to Texas A&M Coach Kevin Sumlin for the negative attention created by his early departure.

“I told him the deal really got blown out of proportion, and I’m sorry for that,” Manziel said. “I’m sorry for the way it was spun and the way it was taken out of context. I never meant to make A&M look bad.”

Sumlin said there is “no question” Manziel has made mistakes off the field.

“We’ve had discussions about that, the way we view things,” Sumlin said. “Is our system perfect? No. Is he perfect? I think he’s done some things that he’s not very proud of, has made some poor decisions. He’s made some good decisions. Unfortunately, the bad decisions are the ones that are really publicized.

“It’s a growing process. It’s a learning process. … Can he be better in that area? Certainly. That’s something that we’re working on.”

At previous coaching stops as an assistant at Purdue and Oklahoma and as head coach at Houston, Sumlin workedwith high-profile quarterbacks such as Drew Brees, Jason White and Case Keenum on how to improve going into the next season after breaking through the previous year.

“We sit down, talk about not only your strengths as a player but your weaknesses,” Sumlin said. “In Johnny’s case, as a young player, his No. 1 challenge was and still is to get a much better feel for our overall package and to think like a coach on the field, to be able to anticipate and see the game for what it really is.”

Sumlin said as last season progressed, Manziel gradually became a quarterback who is athletic rather than an athlete playing quarterback.

“The more he can continue to do that, the quicker we’re going to be able to involve these young players in our scheme and have him help be able to really mold our offense to what we can do,” Sumlin said.

Manziel said what happened in the off-season will have no effect on his play, but he understands that if he falls short of expectations, some people will blame his off-the-field activities.

“They can say all they want. I’m fine with that,” Manziel said. “There are plenty of things that factor into your season that go on behind the scenes. I guarantee you when August comes and it’s football time, I will be absolutely 150 percent ready to go.”

Manziel’s teammates who also appeared at SEC media days - Hurd and senior offensive tackle Jake Matthews - said they have no doubt about his ability to focus on football.

“Johnny Football is a great guy,” Hurd said. “He’s dedicated to his craft.”

Matthews said Manziel is the same around his teammates as he was before last season.

“I’ve got all my faith in Johnny,” Matthews said. “I know he’s going to be a great player. I know he’s going to really push himself. I know he’s going be ready for the season.

“He’s just so competitive, he loves playing so much, he puts so much pressure on himself, he wants to be the best. I know he wouldn’t do anything to mess that up.”

Manziel said he didn’t understand the scrutiny he’d be under after winning the Heisman Trophy.

“I never realized the magnitude of it,” he said. “People told me, I heard it time and time again, but it’s one of those things you don’t really understand until you go through it and deal with it.”

Manziel said he wants to learn from his mistakes, but for the most part he was unapologetic for what he did in the off-season.

“I won the Heisman, I’m put on a little bit of a higher pedestal,” Manziel said. “At the end of the day, I’m not going for the Miss America pageant. I’m playing football. I’m a 20-year-old kid in college. Take that for what it’s worth.

“My teammates know where my heart’s at, where my head’s at. My coaches do, my family does, and that’s what really matters to me.”