Johnny Manziel managed to turn Texas A&M into a national powerhouse in its first year as part of the SEC, but if not for an overturned appeal it’s possible “Johnny Football” would have never existed. According to The Dallas Morning News, Manziel came close to transferring prior to the 2012 season.
Texas A&M reportedly suspended Manziel for all of 2012 following an arrest at a College Station bar last summer. At around 2 a.m. on June 29, 2012, Manziel was arrested and charged with misdemeanors of fighting, failure to identify and possession of fake IDs. According to police reports, his friend called a man a racial slur which led to the fight.
Manziel appealed his suspension and won. He and his parents met with head coach Kevin Sumlin, who said he imposed discipline on Manziel, and the young quarterback decided to stay with the Aggies. He was considered the team’s backup quarterback at the time but ended up earning the starting job in August. Manziel has publicly stated that what happened with his arrest is a major regret.
“The first thing that goes through your mind is how many people you let down,” he said last November. “It was…something I’ll look back on as one of the biggest mistakes of my life.”
The Aggies went on to enjoy an 11-2 season and Manziel became the first freshman to ever win the Heisman Trophy. However, that does not mean he’s completely happy with Texas A&M. One of his recent tweets indicated that he is counting down the days until he can leave College Station, though Manziel later retracted what he said.
Celebrities, man — you never know what they’re thinking at any given moment.
