Johnny Manziel says he would treat preseason game ‘like the Super Bowl’

Johnny Manziel made his first public appearance in over a year when he signed autographs at an event just outside of Houston Thursday night, and the former Texas A&M star made one thing clear — he wants back in the NFL.

Will Brinson of CBS Sports attended the event, and he said he was shocked to see that Manziel looked “great.” The 24-year-old who has spent the last year-plus drinking, partying and reportedly using drugs is hoping to play professional football again. This time, Manziel promises he would take things seriously.

“I just want to get back on the field,” he told Brinson. “If I played in a preseason game, I’d treat it like the Super Bowl.”

Manziel drew a sizable crowd that included many children. Brinson says he was polite with the media and “friendly, patient and aloof” with the fans. While Manziel is used to constantly being in the spotlight, there have been plenty of unflattering stories written about him in recent months. He could easily deny that any of them are true and freeze out reporters, but he typically holds himself accountable for his actions — no matter how dumb they may be.

Manziel missed the entire 2016 season after spending two years with the Cleveland Browns. His autograph signing and recent appearance at Texas A&M indicate he is trying to clean up his imagine, but we have seen this act before. Will Manziel ever be able to do enough to inspire an NFL team to give him another shot? Perhaps not, but he’s certainly young enough to turn his life around.