Earlier this week, the New York Times wrote an article about Texas A&M’s lack of official Heisman publicity for quarterback Johnny Manziel. That’s understandable to a degree. Manziel’s a redshirt freshman that only recently -- meaning after this past Saturday’s win over Alabama -- launched into the legitimate, end-of-season Heisman talk. He’s not even allowed to talk to the media.
It’s no coincidence that Manziel’s not currently favored to win the award either. Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein holds that distinction according to Bovada, and right or wrong, Klein’s going to have a better opportunity to seal up the Heisman with a season-ending game (on the last weekend of the season) against rising Texas with a BCS championship spot on the line. Manziel, on the other hand, finishes the season against Missouri with nothing else to play for other than another win.
Those are the politics of the Heisman -- part of them, anyway -- and although A&M previously did nothing in the way promoting Manziel outside of trying to trademark the nickname “Johnny Football”, they’re certainly playing the Heisman game now. The A&M athletic department has an official Heisman website for Manziel and released a promo video Friday (with hashtag and everything) which you can view below.
“Johnny Manziel is most dynamic player in college football this season,” the video description reads. “He’s broken the 43-year-old SEC record for total yardage in a game - twice. Through just 10 games, he’s thrown for more yards than Tim Tebow & Troy Smith had in their respective Heisman seasons, and he’s on pace to break Cam Newton’s SEC total offense record - even though he will play in one fewer game.
“Without a doubt, Johnny ‘Football’ Manziel is best candidate for this year’s Heisman Trophy Award.”
Is it too little too late? Possibly. Mold the statistics however you want, this Heisman race could easily go to four or five individuals (I would personally include Oregon running back Kenjon Barner, USC receiver Marqise Lee and South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney in the discussion) and there are still three weekends left in the regular season to sort it all out. There’s no Cam Newton this year.
The good news for Manziel is that the Heisman is supposed to go to the “most outstanding” player in college football, not the best player on the best team or the individual with the most impressive stat line. Conversely, the bad news for Manziel is that “most outstanding” means something different to every Heisman voter, and that’s not even taking regional biases into consideration.