Kerrville Tivy senior quarterback Johnny Manziel had been on the Texas A&M campus before last weekend, but his experience in College Station was markedly different this time.
That’s not a surprise considering Manziel, one of the most exciting high school quarterbacks anywhere, now has the full attention of Aggies coach Mike Sherman and his staff.
Offered a scholarship by the Aggies last Monday despite being committed to Oregon since June, Manziel made an unofficial visit to A&M with a few of his Tivy teammates Saturday and Sunday.
Among other things, he took in the Aggies’ season-opening 48-7 victory over Stephen F. Austin in their season opener and, in his words, “had a blast.”
To hear Manziel tell it, Sherman and his staff pulled out all the stops to make him feel welcome.
“They showed me a lot of love,” Manziel said Monday night. “I got a chance to talk with all the coaches and some of the players. I was very impressed. It was great to see a game there with 81,000 people in the stadium, swaying back and forth.”
While saying he hasn’t changed his mind about Oregon, Manziel didn’t rule out withdrawing his commitment, either.
Considering Manziel plans to be in College Station each of the next two weekends, the Ducks could be hard pressed to keep him in their corner if gets more comfortable around the Aggies with each visit.
Manziel said last week that the reason for taking a second look at his commitment to Oregon would be driven by his desire to sign with a school closer to home, so his parents could see him play regularly.
“Just say I’m solidly committed to Oregon, but I’m looking at A&M and want to look into it some more,” he said. “I’ve talked to the coaches at Oregon and they understand my situation.
“They’re still going to recruit me hard and call me once a week, but they also know this is something I’ve got to look into. Ultimately, I think they’ll respect my decision either way.”
Manziel was so impressed with A&M that he plans to return to College Station with his parents for another unofficial visit this weekend, when the Aggies host Louisiana Tech. He said he would like to make another unofficial visit with friends when A&M entertains Florida International on Sept. 18.
“I’d like to go up there again with my friends because we had a blast this weekend,” Manziel said.
Manziel, 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds, had a career game in a 39-34 victory against Madison last Friday. With A&M quarterbacks coach Tom Rossley watching from the sideline, Manziel had a hand in 581 of the Antlers’ 582 yards in total offense.
Manziel said he probably would make an official visit to Oregon the first weekend in November.
“If I do, I’ll take my official visit to A&M the week before or after that so I can have something to compare,” Manziel said.
Manziel passed for 2,782 yards and 19 TDs and rushed for 1,529 yards and 33 TDs last year, when he helped lead the Antlers to the Class 4A Division II state semifinals. He also caught five passes for 159 yards and two TDs.
Manziel grew up wanting to play at Texas, but UT coaches, wary of his height, told him they would play him at wide receiver.
It kind of makes you wonder what took A&M so long to realize Manziel is the real deal, a player with the uncanny ability to make the big play consistently.
But let’s be frank: Sherman was also wary of Manziel’s height.
Somebody must have reminded Sherman that the Aggies, as did UT and so many schools, passed on Drew Brees when he was a senior at Austin Westlake.
Brees, you might recall, helped lead the New Orleans Saints to a Super Bowl victory over the Indianapolis Colts last season. Oh, and he’s only 6 feet tall.
“Coach Sherman sat down and talked to me about why the offer was made to me when it was,” Manziel said. “I was satisfied with what he told me.”
Stay tuned.
