Johnny Football might be the biggest “what if” in college football. Electric, polarizing… Johnny Manziel was a god at Texas A&M, a Heisman winner, he was incredibly fun to watch.
Back in 2012 and 2013, you’d flip on the Texas A&M game for one reason: Not because of who the Aggies were playing, not even because you were a fan, but to see what kind of wild move Manziel was going to pull in the game. His stellar play as a redshirt freshman in 2012 led to a Heisman Trophy, the highest level of achievement in college football.
However, there were his off the field antics that made him equally as polarizing as he was electric on the football field. The insane partying that he carried with him to the NFL ultimately led to his demise, going from a first round NFL Draft pick to the Cleveland Browns, to being out of a job after only two seasons.
And at the peak of his demise, Johnny was spotted in Las Vegas in 2016, looking rail thin, and the “TMZ” moment really rubberstamped him as a lost cause. He confessed on a recent episode of Club Shay Shay Podcast with Shannon Sharpe that he was heavy into drugs at that time, and ultimately his fun with the Columbian Bam Bam led to a weight loss of 40 pounds:
“I was 210 pounds when I left Cleveland. I was 170 pounds sitting in Vegas that August, September, October, whatever it was. How do you lose 40 pounds? You’re a strict diet of blow.”
These days, Johnny has matured, seems to have found his identity outside of football, and wants to spend his time doing better than he’s done in the past. Just listening to the conversation, you can hear him detail how much he’s full of regret, embarrassment and shame, and you just hope that he can find some peace outside of that. Obviously, he made some mistakes and wasted a golden opportunity, but carrying all that, your past constantly weighing on you? That is no way to live…
Nobody IS their past… and Johnny has a whole lot of life ahead of him. It sounds like he’s the happiest he’s ever been, and ready to make the best of the future going forward:
“My mission has been to just live and find out about life… to be a great uncle, to be a great brother, to be a great son, to be a great role model for Texas A&M, to be a great alumni and a leader, and be a resource for my guys who play at Texas A&M and these are things that I’m trying to do moving forward, that I completely neglected in the past.”
Respect.
You can watch the full conversation below… if you’re a fan of Johnny Manziel, and even if you’re not but want a lesson on redemption and turning your life around, it’s well worth the watch:
