Johnny Manziel couldn’t have possibly been under a lot of adversity during Texas A&M’s spring game on Saturday, but the Heisman Trophy winner still looked sharp heading into his second year as the team’s starting quarterback.
Manziel threw for over 300 yards and was finished shortly after the beginning of the second half. Kevin Sumlin said after the game that he was pleased overall with the first-string offense, including new center Mike Matthews.
“With that first group... I think we had one holding [call]. The ball was moving. There weren’t a lot of balls on the ground, sloppy penalties, 10 or 12 men on the field. I thought the first group moved efficiently.
“We have a quarterback who understands it [the offense] now, but a new center,” Sumlin continued. “As long as we don’t notice him [Matthews], he’s doing a great job.”
Manziel looked fine -- that much was expected -- but who Manziel will throw to this season continues to be one of the focal points for the Aggie offense in 2013 as veteran receivers Ryan Swope and Uzoma Nwachukwu are both gone. LeKendrick Williams, who had just 116 receiving yards all of last year, had the best day with seven receptions for 105 yards. Derel Walker and Mike Evans, coming off a sensational freshman year in which he led the team in receiving yards, had 79 and 73 yards receiving, respectively.
It’s tough to tell how a team is going to operate in the fall based on what happens in the spring, but Sumlin’s remarks today should give Aggie fans at least some reason for optimism -- at least on offense.