Oklahoma defensive coordinator Mike Stoops‘s unit was embarrassed by Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl last week, and the coach seems to still be bitter about it.
During a radio interview on WWLS The Sports Animal in Tulsa Friday, Stoops took a shot at Johnny Football while complimenting the Heisman Trophy winner.
The Tulsa World provides a transcript of Stoops’ exchange with host Al Eschbach:
Eschbach: “Hey Mike, I appreciate it. Johnny Football’s not on your schedule right now for next year, OK?”
Stoops: “Well, I’ll tell you what Al, I’ve seen a lot of football players play a lot of different styles with guys, but never seen anything like that in my whole life. I mean, I’ve never felt as defenseless as we were the other night, that’s for sure.
“You know, any time you can go for 500 yards against a team like Alabama, what they did to Notre Dame, that tells you. You don’t need to say anything else. On the road at Alabama, that guy was phenomenal that night.
“He just creates so many problems for your defense, and he knows what those problems are. And he understands them very well.
“They’re gonna be tough to deal with. If they can keep him out of jail or keep him eligible, he’s gonna be pretty good. (Eschbach has begun to laugh, after which Stoops lets loose a single chuckle.)
“If they can keep him off the Twitter, he might win three or four Heismans. He’ll have that type of ability.”
Though Stoops was mostly complimentary of the quarterback who torched his defense to the tune of 519 total yards and four touchdowns, he couldn’t resist those jabs. Stoops was referring to Manziel’s arrest last June for disorderly conduct, and the quarterback drawing attention to himself with flashy and questionable pictures on Twitter.
The Tulsa World later reported that Stoops reached out via a representative from the school’s athletic department to say he regretted his comments.
Stoops reportedly said he had the “utmost respect for Texas A&M and Johnny Manziel.”
The comments from Stoops just seemed petty and unnecessary from a coach who just got embarrassed. But if he truly thinks Manziel has questionable character, he should just let his comments stand and not back away. It’s not like he’s the only person thinking it.
