Texas A&M Aggies

ESPN radio host Paul Finebaum talks about the perception of Johnny Manziel since he won the Heisman and how his comments have hurt his image.

Heisman-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel is under fire for a tweet sent early Sunday morning. Sam Khan joins “College Football Live” to discuss how Manziel’s life has changed in College Station in the last year.

We're in the dog days of the offseason, where every little comment or development gets overanalyzed or takes on a life of its own. So why not overanalyze some comments Texas A&M athletic director Eric Hyman made in jest at the Brazos County A&M Club Coach's Night, an alumni event on Thursday night on campus? He made a joke that went like this, according to the San Antonio Express-News: “What do the moon and Texas A&M have in common? They both control the Tide.”

TideNation's Alex Scarborough: First of all, I'm a little disappointed in Hyman for not getting more creative with his joke. It's good for a chuckle, I suppose, but a half-hearted one at that. There's better material out there to draw on, if you ask me. He could have at least incorporated Nick Saban being the devil into it, like everyone else has done this offseason.

That brings me to my next point: Why even make the joke at all? I'm sure Kevin Sumlin really appreciated him providing the bulletin board material because, you know, Alabama certainly needed fuel to add to its fire. The motivation for revenge might not have been enough. Remember the "never again" poster from Alabama's heartbreaking loss to Cam Newton and the Auburn Tigers in 2010? The Tide have dominated the last two Iron Bowl contests, winning both by a combined score of 91-14. I've got to believe there's a similar poster being constructed now for Texas A&M with Hyman's quote as its centerpiece.

But Sam, when we look at last year's game and Hyman's analysis of the Aggies being able to "control the Tide," do you think there's some truth in it? I look back at the first quarter and agree, but after that I'm not so sure.

GigEmNation's Sam Khan: I think Sumlin agrees with you, even if just a little bit, since he said, "No pressure, Eric. Thank you," when he took the podium. You're right in that the Crimson Tide don't need any additional motivation but I wouldn't overestimate how much that matters. Sumlin is a pretty good motivator himself and I'm sure he'll play up the fact that the whole world expects the Tide to exact revenge on Sept. 14.

As for "controlling the Tide," I do think there's some truth in Hyman's quote. Did the Aggies dominate the game from start to finish? No. Against a team as talented and as deep as Alabama, that's nearly impossible to do. But the Aggies took it to Alabama as well as anybody else has in quite some time with the strong first quarter and a huge last scoring drive. Defensively, the Aggies were solid and opportunistic, coming up with some huge turnovers. Yes, the Tide were one play away from winning, should Deshazor Everett not pull off the interception on fourth-and-goal, but the Aggies win was far from luck or anything of the like.

Here's my question for you, Alex, when it comes to the Crimson Tide. Everyone talks about how Saban and Co. have all offseason to prepare for Johnny Manziel. But it stands to reason that Manziel will improve from Year 1 to Year 2. My question is, how much better prepared are the Crimson Tide going to be for the Aggies' offensive tempo, which seemed to give them significant trouble? Do they face anybody else that plays at that pace?

Scarborough: Therein lies the rub, Sam. You're right about Alabama having all offseason to prepare for what Manziel and the different Texas A&M offensive weapons can do, but until it learns to better handle the uptempo style of play itself, it's a major question mark whether the Tide can consistently handle offenses like the Aggies. After all, Sumlin won't be alone in running the fast-paced spread against Alabama. Virginia Tech will likely push the pace in the season-opener and Ole Miss will definitely look to force the defense's hand in Week 4. Kentucky, Tennessee and Auburn will all do the same later on in the schedule as well.

There's no doubt, though, that the biggest challenge to Alabama's defense will be Texas A&M. Even with Luke Joeckel no longer protecting Manziel's blindside and Kliff Kingsbury no longer calling plays, it's hard to imagine the Aggies offense being anything other than dangerous. And it all comes back to what Manziel can do with his feet. Saban and defensive coordinator Kirby Smart can use every minute of the offseason studying film to better prepare for the Aggies, but there is almost no way to stop what Manziel does best: improvise. All Alabama can hope to do is preach containment up front and pray that someone can wrap up the speedy quarterback when the time comes.

That brings me to my final question, Sam: In light of the recent success of the two programs and the buzz suddenly growing around the rematch thanks to Hyman's comments, do you see Alabama-Texas A&M becoming the best rivalry in the SEC West over the next few seasons? As long as Sumlin is around, I imagine Aggies fans are confident in the direction of the program and its ability to compete with the likes of Alabama.

Khan: I think you answered the last question with six key words: "As long as Sumlin is around." The program is moving upward right now and as long as he's in the captain's chair, I think that will continue. Will it become the best rivalry in the SEC West? Perhaps. I think LSU vs. Texas A&M has great rivalry potential also and Alabama-LSU is probably the best one currently going. I think in order for A&M-Bama to be considered "the best," the Aggies will have to pass LSU, which they haven't done yet. The Aggies lost to LSU last year and finished tied with them in the standings. Bama-LSU games have had a national title feel to them; the Aggies will have to legitimately get into the BCS title game chase for that to start happening against Bama. But there's no doubt that by beating the Tide last year, the Aggies have the Crimson Tide's attention.

That brings me to my last question for you: How much do you think Alabama and its fans care about A, what Hyman said; and B, what the Aggies are doing between now and Sept. 14. The Crimson Tide won the national championship. Are the Aggies really that big of a deal to Bama?

Scarborough: To answer your second question first, everything that happens in the SEC is a big deal to Alabama fans. You might think that not much gets to Tide fans these days, but you'd be wrong. Apathy is not something that sits well in these parts. It's partly the environment in the state, with no professional sports franchises to distract the attention away from college football,and partly the attitude Saban has fostered in these parts where even the most minute of details matter. There's interest in anything even tangentially connected to Alabama, even something as innocuous as an athletic director's comment to what amounts to a semi-private gathering of alumni.

That brings me back to whether Alabama fans care about what Hyman said. They most certainly do. The sting of that defeat still doesn't sit well with the Crimson Tide faithful, even though a national championship came after. But the part that I think bothers fans most is the manner in which he said it. Don't tell me Hyman didn't know he would be quoted or that he didn't know exactly what he was saying. He's been doing the job long enough to know a comment like that would come out.

But at the end of the day, as you've said, Sam, this all boils down to a symptom of the offseason where even comments made in jest are overanalyzed. Hyman would probably like to have what he said back, and Sumlin would, too, but overall it was harmless and only serves to make a budding rivalry just a little more entertaining. And as fans of college football, what's really so wrong about that?

Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel is not one to hold back his emotions. He's a very engaging person, both on and off the field, but his actions away from the gridiron can sometimes get him in trouble.

Especially with that blessing and curse known simply as Twitter.

According to a report by the Dallas Morning News, Manziel's Twitter personality (@JManziel2) sparked some controversy over the weekend when the reigning Heisman Trophy winner tweeted, "Bulls--- like tonight is a reason why I can't wait to leave college station...whenever it may be," early Sunday morning.

The tweet was quickly deleted, but Manziel followed up with this:

"Don't ever forget that I love A&M with all of my heart, but please please walk a day in my shoes."

An A&M spokesman said he didn't expect any sort of statement from Manziel about the tweets.

Although we don't know why Manziel decided to tweet his frustrations out to his 360,000-plus followers, maybe it's time for Manziel, who is juggling being a full-time quarterback and celebrity, to lie low until August rolls around. Maybe he doesn't need to bathe in the limelight as much for a little while.

Despite the courtside seats at NBA games, photos with Hollywood's elite, trips to famous sporting events/venues and on-air appearances, Johnny Football is still a college student. But since he and his crazy legs burst onto the scene last football season, he's become too big for Texas A&M. He has his own brand, and A&M can only hope to contain it.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with Manziel being the big man on campus. There's also nothing wrong with him being a big fish in A&M's little pond, but he has to realize that he's in an age when celebrities are monitored more and more. Everyone has a cellphone and anyone can read your tweets. One's narcissism is more readily available to the public like never before.

While Manziel is part of A&M's university, he has to make himself fit.

Manziel has to decide whether he's Johnny Football or a celebrity first. The thing that makes Manziel so fascinating to watch is that he's created his celebrity image through actual skill. He was relatively unknown before he was arrested last summer and charged with disorderly conduct and having a fake ID. At the time, most people thought he had squandered any hopes of being A&M's starting quarterback.

Five months later, Manziel was a college football rock star and the first freshman to win the Heisman.

Then, he started showing up everywhere. From late-night TV to the Super Bowl, Manziel's face was all over the place. Again, there's nothing wrong with that, but you have to be careful.

Tim Tebow didn't even garner this sort of attention, and he spent four years on Florida's campus. Sure, he was the most loved/hated player in the game, but he didn't have the off-field celebrity status Manziel has. He had no Twitter account to spout off on, and most of his vacations consisted of mission trips.

Also, Tebow arrived at Florida with a mountain of hype on his shoulders. He was one of the best high school players around, so he had been dealing with fame long before Manziel did and was properly prepared.

But that's not Manziel's fault. No one, including himself, thought he'd blow up like he did. It was great to watch, but if Manziel isn't careful with this whole celebrity persona, he could tumble in 2013.

A colleague brought up a very interesting point about Manziel: He has to decide whether he's Kanye West or Kim Kardashian. Kanye built his fame on being an amazing artist and producer while also having the bravado to tick people off. Kanye can be a certifiable jerk, but his credibility is never questioned because he's great at his craft: music. He can get away with his antics because when he goes into the studio, he cuts gold. Kim made her fame off much less and has to constantly be in the public eye or else she'll fade into nonexistence.

Manziel has that Kanye vibe about him when it comes to his craft, but he has to continue to cut gold on the field or he'll fade.

Manziel has so much going for him on the football field that his days in College Station are likely dwindling. He just has to make it to August and then through the season.

Maybe it's time for him to focus on the Aggies side of things and scale back his celebrity image. I'm not saying he shouldn't go out and have fun, but he could slow down a bit. If he doesn't want the attention, he can avoid it. He might be the biggest person in College Station, but he can hide if he really wants to.

If Manziel's celebrity stature outweighs football, people will turn on him in a way that I don't think he's ready for. Our society is good at building people up, but it's even better at breaking them down.

GigEmNation writer Sam Khan Jr. chatted with readers on Friday about Texas A&M football and recruiting. Here's the full transcript of the chat. Here's an excerpt:

MARI IL (via mobile): Has Johnny Football got what it takes to start on the NFL level? I mean, he is a Heisman winner but so is Tebow.

Sam Khan Jr.: Ultimately for a quarterback trying to get to the NFL, it comes down to whether you can throw the football. The ability to run is a plus but bottom line, you have to get it to your targets. Johnny Manziel can do that. Anybody who saw some of the throws he made against Alabama last year, I think, saw that. If he continues to work, grow and progress, I think he will show he's NFL-worthy. Mechanically, I think he's further along as a passer than Tim Tebow was at this point.

Jonathan (Austin, Texas): Where do you think Jamal Adams will end up?

Sam Khan Jr.: He has been pretty good about playing things close to the vest so it's hard to guess, but I think he ends up at either Florida, Texas or Texas A&M. I think all three have great shots at him.

Roman (New Mexico): Do you think having several quality DBs already committed plays against the Aggies' shot at landing [Tony] Brown or [Jamal] Adams?

Sam Khan Jr.: Not necessarily. Those are top-flight guys who have gotten to their highly-ranked status because they're fierce competitors. I don't think they would look at the Aggies group of defensive back commits and think to themselves that they should pass, simply because it has the potential to be crowded. Those two are probably thinking they're going to play as freshmen. So, no, I don't think that will hurt the Aggies chances with Tony Brown or Jamal Adams.

Texas AM QB Johnny Manziel stops by "First Take" to surprise Skip Bayless, talk about his success in 2012, life in the spotlight and future in the NFL.

Kirk Herbstreit visits Johnny Manziel as he trains with QB specialist George Whitfield this offseason.

The Aggies have plenty of playmakers on offense surrounding quarterback Johnny Manziel.

ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. is rolling out his early top five rankings at each position this week.

Here's what he's looked at so far:

• Wide receivers and defensive ends
• Running backs and safeties

Now, we're taking a look at Kiper's top quarterback and cornerback draft prospects. We'll start with the quarterbacks and look at the corners later today.

Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel ranks third on Kiper's list, while Alabama's AJ McCarron comes in at No. 5. Ole Miss' Bo Wallace made Kiper's "Next up" list, while Georgia's Aaron Murray made his "More I like" list.

Manziel is getting all sorts of draft attention after his record-breaking, Heisman-winning season. He's the most talked about quarterback in the country and while he doesn't have an elite arm, he's extremely athletic and slippery. He's looking to develop more into a passer, but his ability to improv will continue to help him when his arm can't.

McCarron is someone who could have left for the NFL this year, but decided to stay in school. He makes great decisions with the ball (he threw 30 touchdowns to three interceptions last season) and certainly knows how to win. He has two national championship rings and is going for his third straight. He hasn't been asked to do a lot at Alabama, but he's put up some pretty good numbers and is easily the most talented quarterback Saban has had at Alabama.

Wallace has a tremendous amount of athleticism, but he had a lot of decision-making issues last year. He threw for nearly 3,000 yards, but threw 22 touchdowns to 17 interceptions. Fixing his turnover issue is the biggest thing Wallace has to work on this fall. He has good arm strength and can get out of trouble situations with his feet.

Then you have Murray, who isn't getting a lot of draft love. He flirted with heading to the NFL, but also decided to stay in school. Murray's height (listed at 6-1) has hurt his draft status, but he has a solid arm, moves around well with his feet and has really improved his decision making. He had the stigma of not coming up in big games, but showed improvements in 2012 with his second-half effort in the Dawgs' win against Florida and with the way he played against Alabama in the SEC championship game. He'll probably end the 2013 season with a handful of SEC/Georgia records and should become the first SEC quarterback to throw for 3,000 yards in four straight seasons.

Other draft-eligible quarterbacks I'm keeping an eye on this fall:

• Jeff Driskel, Florida: He wasn't great last year, but there's no denying Driskel has talent. He's more comfortable with the playbook, and he has a lot more confidence. He must have more command and develop better chemistry with his receivers this fall.
• James Franklin, Missouri: He spent most of last season battling injuries, but finally isn't dealing with excruciating shoulder pain. His confidence was up this spring and that will go a long way this fall.
• Zach Mettenberger, LSU: He really came along in November and has all of his receiving targets back. People at LSU feel like he's much more comfortable with Cam Cameron's guidance.
• Tyler Russell, Mississippi State: He's had an up-and-down career with the Bulldogs, but when he was on last year he was extremely efficient. He lost all of his receivers from last year and can't press like he did late last season.
• Connor Shaw, South Carolina: It's hard to find a tougher quarterback out there. Shaw has dealt with a lot of injuries, but when he's been on the field, he's had a lot of success. Here's a chance for him to really improve his draft stock.