Aggies' Johnny Manziel A Top-15 College Football QB Since 2000
Any time you beat Alabama it's a good day, right?
Well, former Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Johnny Manziel almost did so twice in his two years as the starting quarterback in 2012-13. His electric playmaking ability landed him at No. 13 on ESPN's top-75 quarterbacks since 2000 list.
"Texas A&M won 20 games in the Johnny Football era, beat Alabama (and nearly did so twice) and immediately put to rest and silly 'Yeah, but can that Big 12 offense work in the SEC?' qualms as the Aggies joined the league," ESPN's Bill Connelly wrote. "But that alone doesn't describe just how much one player could dominate the sport's consciousness over multiple seasons. You couldn't take your eyes off of him because you really, really needed to see what he might do next."
Manziel's scrambling ability to extend plays was one of his best attributes and it always seemed that he played best against tougher opponents.
He played 11 teams ranked in the AP Top 25 in his two-year career, going 5-6 with all six losses by an average of 8.3 points per game. In those games, Manziel completed 66.5 percent of his passes for 3,414 passing yards, 22 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, while rushing for 1,012 yards and 10 touchdowns.
He won the Cotton and Chick-Fil-A bowls for the Aggies and came two losses by a combined seven points away from a national championship berth and potentially the first title since 1939.
In his Heisman Trophy-winning career, he threw for 7,820 yards, 63 touchdowns to 22 interceptions and ran for 2,169 yards and 30 touchdowns.
Manziel owns freshman records for season passing yards, single-game and season rushing yards, 100-yard rushing games and season touchdowns. He is tied for the freshman record for single-game passing touchdowns.
His 69.9 completion percentage, 4,114 passing yards and 37 touchdowns in 2013 are all single-season program records.
Despite Manziel's limited time in College Station, his 7,820 yards and 63 passing touchdowns both rank third in program history.
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