Over the summer, every time I thought about the coming college football season, my pessimism about TAMU's football prospects always began with three facts: New conference, new coaching staff, new quarterback.
I didn't know squat about Johnny Manziel, other than that he was highly thought of as a high school recruit. I've seen better overall teams than the Aggies crater during a freshman quarterback's break-in period, against lesser teams than Alabama, LSU and Florida.
The first game against Florida, I was astonished by Manziel's performance in the first half. I hadn't expected what I was seeing. What I was expecting was what I saw in the second half, when the Gator defense built a wall around Manziel that he couldn't run through or throw over. Against the two patsies that followed Florida on the schedule, Manziel took what he'd shown early in the first game to a new level. As dazzling as he looked, I had to take it with a grain of salt after the quality of opposing defenses was factored into the deal.
Yesterday, I saw Manziel in person for the first time... maybe the only time, in view of the infrequency of my trips to Kyle Field. Arkansas isn't exactly awesome on defense, but they're a damned sight better than SMU and S.C. State. Manziel shredded them with what appeared to be improvised running plays, and his 80-yard touchdown pass to Swope just before the first half ended turned out to be the play of the game. Arkansas never seemed to fully recover from that stunner.
So Manziel seems like the real fucking deal to me. He's easily the most exciting quarterback to play for TAMU in the years I've watched them; he's everything I once believed Reggie McNeal would be before Slocum and Franchione ruined him. One of my criticisms of TAMU football has been the program's inability to recruit and develop quarterbacks... even the blue chippers they've signed in the past seldom turned out to be much better than above-average. My hope is that Kevin Sumlin and his staff will eliminate that longstanding deficiency.
My other nagging concern is that, for the moment at least, the Aggie running game is adequate at best. Manziel is their biggest threat, but most of his rushing yards seem to come on plays that were originally intended to be passes. At some point, those hotshot running backs need to pitch in and help, at least more than they did against Arkansas. Manziel is elusive enough that he doesn't usually get blasted by defenders, but he hasn't played defenses like Alabama's yet. I dread the idea of losing him to injury, because as things stand, he's the one guy who makes both the offense AND the defense look better than they probably are. In that sense, he's the Magic Man.
I didn't know squat about Johnny Manziel, other than that he was highly thought of as a high school recruit. I've seen better overall teams than the Aggies crater during a freshman quarterback's break-in period, against lesser teams than Alabama, LSU and Florida.
The first game against Florida, I was astonished by Manziel's performance in the first half. I hadn't expected what I was seeing. What I was expecting was what I saw in the second half, when the Gator defense built a wall around Manziel that he couldn't run through or throw over. Against the two patsies that followed Florida on the schedule, Manziel took what he'd shown early in the first game to a new level. As dazzling as he looked, I had to take it with a grain of salt after the quality of opposing defenses was factored into the deal.
Yesterday, I saw Manziel in person for the first time... maybe the only time, in view of the infrequency of my trips to Kyle Field. Arkansas isn't exactly awesome on defense, but they're a damned sight better than SMU and S.C. State. Manziel shredded them with what appeared to be improvised running plays, and his 80-yard touchdown pass to Swope just before the first half ended turned out to be the play of the game. Arkansas never seemed to fully recover from that stunner.
So Manziel seems like the real fucking deal to me. He's easily the most exciting quarterback to play for TAMU in the years I've watched them; he's everything I once believed Reggie McNeal would be before Slocum and Franchione ruined him. One of my criticisms of TAMU football has been the program's inability to recruit and develop quarterbacks... even the blue chippers they've signed in the past seldom turned out to be much better than above-average. My hope is that Kevin Sumlin and his staff will eliminate that longstanding deficiency.
My other nagging concern is that, for the moment at least, the Aggie running game is adequate at best. Manziel is their biggest threat, but most of his rushing yards seem to come on plays that were originally intended to be passes. At some point, those hotshot running backs need to pitch in and help, at least more than they did against Arkansas. Manziel is elusive enough that he doesn't usually get blasted by defenders, but he hasn't played defenses like Alabama's yet. I dread the idea of losing him to injury, because as things stand, he's the one guy who makes both the offense AND the defense look better than they probably are. In that sense, he's the Magic Man.
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