Johnny Manziel Jonathan Paul Manziel ( born December 6 , 1992 ) , also known by his nickname " Johnny Football " , is an American football quarterback . He was nationally recruited out of high school as a dual - threat quarterback . In 2012 , Manziel debuted for the Texas A & M Aggies as a redshirt freshman in Kevin Sumlin ' s Air Raid offense during A & M ' s first season in the SEC . He broke numerous NCAA Division I FBS and SEC records , which include becoming the first freshman and fifth player in NCAA history to pass for 3 , 000 yards and rush for 1 , 000 yards in a season . At the end of the regular season , he became the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy , Manning Award , and the Davey O ' Brien National Quarterback Award . Manziel capitalized on his redshirt freshman season by leading Texas A & M to a 41 – 13 victory over Oklahoma in the 2013 Cotton Bowl Classic . Manziel was given the nickname " Johnny Football " by fans and students at Texas A & M University before the start of the 2012 season . The nickname is a registered trademark . Early life . Manziel was born in Tyler , Texas the son of Michelle ( née Liberato ) and Paul Manziel . He has a younger sister who is in high school . His family became wealthy through the Texas petroleum industry . He grew up playing a variety of sports , including basketball , baseball , golf and football . At Tivy High School in Kerrville , Texas , he focused on baseball and football . However , it was in football that sportswriters , coaches , and parents said he " achieved folk hero status " and was compared to quarterbacks like Brett Favre , Michael Vick , and Drew Brees . High school . At Tivy High School he was coached by Mark Smith . He played football all four years in high school and began with the freshman team his first year . By the end of his first season , he played with the varsity team as a receiver . He began his sophomore year primarily as a receiver , but started the fourth game at quarterback . He shared that position for the remainder of the season , finishing with 1 , 164 yards passing , 806 rushing and 408 receiving for a combined 28 touchdowns . Manziel ' s junior year was his first as starting quarterback , and he completed that season with 2 , 903 passing yards , 1 , 544 rushing yards , 152 receiving yards and 55 touchdowns . That year , he was voted All - San Antonio Area Offensive Player of the Year as well as District 27 - 4A MVP . During Manziel ' s senior season , he compiled 228 - of - 347 ( 65 . 7 % ) passing for 3 , 609 yards with 45 TDs and 5 INTs . He also had 170 carries for 1 , 674 yards and 30 TDs . He had 1 TD reception and returned a kickoff for a touchdown for a combined 77 TDs . That year , he was honored as District 28 - 4A MVP ( unanimous selection ) , Class 4A First Team All - State ( AP ) , " San Antonio Express - News " Offensive Player of the Year ( second year in a row ) , the Associated Press Sports Editors Texas Player of the Year , Sub - 5A First Team All - Area ( " SA Express - News " ) , No . 1 QB in Texas by " Dave Campbell ' s Texas Football " , DCTF Top 300 , PrepStar All - Region and Super - Prep All - Region . For Manziel ' s three years as a starter , he completed 520 of 819 passes ( 63 . 5 percent ) for 7 , 626 yards and 76 touchdowns , rushed 531 times for 4 , 045 yards and 77 touchdowns and caught 30 passes for 582 yards and another five touchdowns . He was the only quarterback in America named as a Parade All - American his senior year , and he was also named The National High School Coaches Association ( NHSCA ) Senior Athlete of the Year in football . He was highly recruited out of high school ; in addition to Texas A & M , he received offers from Baylor , Colorado State , Iowa State , Louisiana Tech , Oregon , Rice , Stanford , Tulsa , and Wyoming . Although he grew up a Texas Longhorns fan , the University of Texas did not recruit him . Although it was rumored that Texas wanted Manziel at defensive back , Texas coach Mack Brown said the rumor was not true . Though Manziel originally committed to play for Oregon , he later changed his commitment to the Aggies , thanks to the influence of then - quarterbacks coach Tom Rossley . Manziel was named to the NUC All World Game ( started by David Schuman and National Underclassmen Combine ) in 2010 where he rushed for over 100 yards and threw for over 200 . It was the first time Manziel dominated on a national stage . He played in the game as a teammate with Oregon QB Marcus Mariota . College career . 2011 season . Manziel was redshirted during his first season and did not play in any games . 2012 season . Texas A & M faced uncertainty at the quarterback position when Ryan Tannehill left for the National Football League after the 2011 season . Manziel performed well during Spring ball and fall practices and won the starting job over Jameill Showers and Matt Joeckel before the season began . His first game was supposed to be against Louisiana Tech in Shreveport , Louisiana on Thursday , August 30 , 2012 , but the game was postponed until October 13 due to Hurricane Isaac hitting the Louisiana coast two days prior to game time . Consequently , Manziel ' s college football debut was played as a redshirt freshman against the Florida Gators before a home crowd at Kyle Field . Although Manziel began the season in relative obscurity , his play against Arkansas in which he broke Archie Manning ' s 43 - year - old total offense record gained him some attention . Manziel had 557 yards of total offense , breaking Manning ' s record of 540 . Two games later , Manziel surpassed his own total offense record against # 24 Louisiana Tech by achieving 576 yards of total offense , becoming the first player in SEC history to have two 500 + total offense games in one season . After Texas A & M ' s blowout of Auburn in game 8 , in which Manziel accounted for 3 passing and 2 rushing touchdowns through only the first half plus one series in the second , Manziel began showing up in national Heisman Watch lists . Manziel was launched into the national scene after he led Texas A & M to a 29 – 24 upset over # 1 Alabama in Tuscaloosa . In that game , Manziel accounted for 345 of A & M ' s 418 yards of offense , including two passing touchdowns . In following days , Manziel became the frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy in most national watch lists and polls due to his performance during the game combined with other Heisman frontrunners faltering . On November 24 during the game against the Missouri Tigers before a home crowd , Manziel left the game with an apparent knee injury late in the first quarter . He returned to the field for the next series of downs wearing a knee brace and finished the game with 439 yards of total offense , including 3 passing and 2 rushing touchdowns . During the game , he broke the single season record for offensive production in the SEC with 4600 yards , surpassing Cam Newton and Tim Tebow , notable recent Heisman Trophy winners . He also became the first freshman and only the fifth player in NCAA history to pass for 3000 and rush for 1000 yards in a season , reaching that mark two games earlier than any other player . He won the SEC Freshman of the Year Award and College Football Performance National Freshman of the Year Award . Manziel won the Davey O ' Brien Award on December 6 and the Heisman Trophy on December 8 , making him the first freshman ever to win either award . 2013 season . Texas A & M started the 2013 season with a No . 6 ranking in the Coaches Poll . Prior to the season , some journalists argued that Johnny could suffer a sophomore slump , while others felt that he will continue to have success . Manziel ' s eligibility for the 2013 season was under question after reports surfaced that he had signed autographs for money in January 2013 . On August 28 , 2013 , the NCAA reached an agreement with Texas A & M to suspend Manziel for the first half of the team ' s game against Rice ( the first game of the season ) , after acknowledging that Manziel did not receive any money for the autographs . In the game against No . 1 Alabama , Manziel threw for a school record of 464 yards and 5 touchdowns in the 49 – 42 loss . His primary target during the game was Mike Evans , who compiled 7 receptions for a school record of 279 yards . In the 51 - 41 win over Mississippi State , Manziel tied his career - high five touchdowns , while also throwing for 446 yards and three interceptions . Professional career . 2014 NFL Draft . On January 8 , 2014 , Manziel announced that he would forego his junior season in order to enter the 2014 NFL Draft . He is projected to be a 1st round pick , and as of January 15 , 2014 , his draft stock is reported to be rising by a consensus of experts who have him pegged as a top 5 pick . Manziel elected to throw during Texas A & M ' s Pro Day on March 27 , 2014 instead of during the NFL Combine . During his pro day , Manziel completed 62 - of - 65 passes to six different receivers . His pro day performance was well received by sports journalists . Prior to the 2014 NFL Draft , Manziel became one of the most polarizing athletes in pre - draft history , from scouting opinions varying from " undraftable " to " rare competitor " . Former NFL head coach Barry Switzer took it to a personal level criticizing Manziel , saying : " I don ’ t like his antics . I think he ’ s an arrogant little ( expletive ) . I ’ ve said that and I ’ ll say it again . " Manziel ' s race might have been a factor in the spat , as Barry has been noted saying : “ I ’ ve always said I ’ d never recruit a white quarterback . The only way I ’ d ever recruit a white quarterback to play for me is if his mom and daddy would both have to be black , and that ’ s the only way I would do it . " Outside of football . Manziel is a friend of rap artist Drake , whom he considers an idol and he is also a friend of National Basketball Association ( NBA ) superstar Lebron James June 2012 arrest . On June 29 , 2012 , before he was chosen as Texas A & M ' s starting quarterback and before his first college game , Manziel was arrested and charged with three misdemeanors — disorderly conduct , failure to identify , and possession of a fictitious driver ' s license . These charges stemmed from a late - night fight in College Station , Texas . In July 2013 , he pleaded guilty for failure to identify , and the other two charges were dismissed . Police reports state that Manziel was with a friend who directed a racial slur at a man on the street . The man then approached the two of them trying to get at the friend , but Manziel placed himself between the two men saying his friend didn ' t mean it and he was going to take him home . The man continued pushing against Manziel to reach the other , and eventually Manziel pushed back . At this point , the man swung at Manziel who then began fighting back . Shortly afterward , the bicycle patrol officers arrived . Manziel , who at the time was 19 , presented a fake Louisiana driver ’ s license to police officers showing himself to be 21 . Manziel was taken into custody and reportedly spent the night in jail . After the incident , Manziel eventually regained the favor of his team and head coach Kevin Sumlin , and was named the starting quarterback . Per Sumlin ' s policy of not allowing freshmen to give media interviews , Manziel was unable to speak to reporters about his arrest until the end of the 2012 regular season . When reporters asked about the incident during his first press conference on November 27 , Manziel stated that he had learned from the mistake and " had to make a lot of changes in [ his ] life . " 2013 offseason . During the 2013 offseason , Manziel drew significant media attention over his behavior off the field . Notable incidents include his early departure from the Manning Passing Academy after allegedly oversleeping , tweeting that he " can ' t wait to leave College Station " after receiving a parking ticket , and getting kicked out of a University of Texas fraternity party . An " ESPN The Magazine " article revealed his parents ' concerns about his dealings with his newfound stardom . On August 4 , 2013 , ESPN reported that the NCAA was investigating whether Manziel accepted payments from autographs that he had signed in January 2013 . The NCAA did not find any evidence that Manziel accepted money for the autographs , but reached an agreement with Texas A & M to suspend him for the first half of the season opener against Rice University , due to an " inadvertent violation " of NCAA rules .