Texas A&M Aggies and Kevin Sumlin Proved They Don’t Need Johnny Manziel
At the beginning of the year, all of the hype surrounding Johnny Manziel as the quarterback for the Cleveland Browns contrasted with the somber mood analysts had around the Texas A&M Aggies.
Every so-called “expert” felt that Kevin Sumlin’s program would fall apart without this one player he had to make him look good.
This non-expert, yours truly, however, said the Texas A&M Aggies would not miss Johnny Manziel. You can see that here for proof.
Now, with the season over for the Aggies and the Browns, Sumlin’s team is walking away with an 8-5 record, only one game worse than the 9-4 record that they had with Manziel last year despite spending the entire year with either a freshman or sophomoe at quarterback.
Meanwhile, Johnny “Football,” in what has become a habit it seems like, was once again back in the news for throwing a party that resulted in Cleveland Wide Receiver Josh Gordon’s suspension. This comes on the heels of two pathetic performances in his only two NFL starts of the year and questions as to whether or not he will even be with the Browns next year.
It even got so bad that ESPN Analyst Skip Bayless, who has driven the Johnny “Football” Train since his first year starting at Texas A&M, called him an alcoholic and a liar on First Take Monday.
So let’s revisit last year. Who needed whom more? Did Texas A&M need Johnny Manziel or did Johnny Manziel need Texas A&M? The answer, obviously, is the second one.
Manziel has currently fallen into the list of quarterbacks made to look great in the Air Raid offense and by Kevin Sumlin but useless anywhere else.
Despite Manziel getting all the love, all the hype, and the Heisman trophy, it was clearly Sumlin, the whole time, making him look good. And Manziel had the nerve to try call the Aggies stadium “The House that Johnny Built” and trademark himself.
Get out of here. It’s becoming the House that Sumlin Built.
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With the First Pick
So, back to the current Aggies. This team proved in its 45-37 win against West Virginia in the Liberty Bowl that it will stay an SEC Power and a national power with Sumlin at the helm.
Allen looks like he has secured the starting spot for the future. And he also looks like he could be far better even in college than Manziel ever was.
Sure, we had concerns about Texas A&M midway through the season. The huge losses to Mississippi State and Ole Miss and the awful 59-0 humiliation to Alabama looked bad in the middle of the year. But then this team beat Auburn and should have beaten LSU and Missouri. And let’s not forget, Sumlin was filled with first-year starters all over the field.
With a new defensive coordinator coming in next year, another Top 10 recruiting class, the second straight and third straight Top 15, and the highly recruited players on the team all coming back with a year of experience under their belt, the depth, talent, and experience should all be better next year. And it should even be better the year after that.
Sumlin, meanwhile, is overseeing the whole thing. He took a school that was mediocre in the Big 12 into the toughest division and toughest overall conference in the country.
All he has done is win.
And while Manziel fights to prove he’s not the next Ryan Leaf, Sumlin is meanwhile looking more like the new Steve Spurrier.
Just a guess: we’ll remember the Texas A&M football program over Manziel 40 years from now when we look back on this era.
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