Published October 1, 2012 - 9:30am
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Johnny “Football” Manziel is on a torrid pace this season, and it’s important and needs to be recognized. He set school records for passing yards with 453 and three touchdowns and combined for 557 total yards and four touchdowns Saturday against Arkansas.
Manziel hasn’t even reached the meat of the schedule yet and has only played one respectable defense in Florida, but the numbers he’s putting up are ludicrous in their own right.
Through four games in 2010, Cam Newton posted 683 passing yards and nine touchdowns with 485 yards rushing with five touchdowns. Newton finished with over 2,800 yards and 30 touchdowns through the air and over 1,400 yards rushing and 20 touchdowns.
Manziel has thrown for 1,094 yards and 10 touchdowns, while rushing for 366 yards and six touchdowns. He’s on pace for 3,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing. Even Newton or Tebow didn’t accomplish that feat.
Is Johnny Manziel as physically gifted as Newton at 6-5, 245-pounds? Of course not. But there is every bit of a playmaker crammed into this 6-1, 200-pound body as you can get. He’s a throwback player who has a knack for making plays, running or passing. I’m not comparing the players, but I am comparing the numbers.
Obviously, the jury is still out whether Manziel can keep this pace up against the likes of LSU, Auburn, Mississippi State and Alabama. But at this current rate that he’s on, he has a chance to go down alongside some of the best names in the history of college football as a dual-threat quarterback for a season.
Let’s not forget we’re still talking about a redshirt freshman. He’s going to make some mistakes this season, and that’s all part of growing and maturing as a quarterback and as a football player. However, Manziel’s best football is in front of him, and it’s going to be interesting watching him against better defenses.
Arkansas is no benchmark, but what Manziel did Saturday was just head-shaking in its own right.
Manziel’s 80-yard TD pass to Ryan Swope
Manziel’s 39-yard TD run
Let’s see how Johnny Football does against Alabama football.
JFF should get his own nation site on ESPN