Editor’s note: SDS is ranking the 25 best SEC players — at any position — of the last decade. Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel is next up in a 25-part daily series.

3.) TEXAS A&M QB JOHNNY MANZIEL (2011-13)

It’s hard to imagine now, but Johnny Manziel very nearly never played a game at quarterback for Texas A&M.

A composite three-star recruit who redshirted in 2011, Manziel performed well enough during spring practice to put himself in position to replace Ryan Tannehill at quarterback. Then he got arrested in late June for a late-night fight outside a bar in College Station. Charged with three misdemeanors, Manziel faced a suspension from the football team for the entire 2012 season. Already contemplating a transfer, Manziel got the suspension overturned on appeal.

The rest is history.

Johnny Football, as he came to be known, broke Archie Manning’s 43-year-old SEC record for single-game total offense — twice — as a redshirt freshman, with 557 total yards against Arkansas and 576 against then-No. 24 Louisiana Tech. He passed the 500-yard mark a third time in a Cotton Bowl win against Oklahoma.

But his signature game came Nov. 10, 2012, at No. 1 Alabama. The Tide defense had allowed more than 14 points just once all season, giving up 17 at No. 5 LSU the week prior. Texas A&M surpassed that number by the end of the first quarter, then held on for a huge road upset.

Manziel’s individual numbers were striking — his 5,116 yards of total offense in ’12 obliterated a single-season SEC record established by Auburn’s Cam Newton in 2010 (4,327 yards) — but the win against Alabama propelled A&M to an 11-2 season, good enough for fifth in the final polls, and it lifted Johnny Football to a Heisman Trophy.

A tumultuous offseason followed, resulting in a media frenzy, and a first-half suspension in the 2013 season opener against Rice after the NCAA couldn’t pin him to an autographs-for-pay scandal.

One of the greatest running quarterbacks the SEC or college football has ever seen, to his credit, Manziel evolved as a player in ’13, using his legs to buy himself time and space as a passer. His rushing touchdowns dipped from 21 to 9 and his yards per carry took a significant hit, but he became a much better quarterback, something the numbers support as well.

He threw for a school-record 464 yards in a 49-42 loss to Alabama, finishing the season with 4,114 yards. More importantly, he gave the Aggies a puncher’s chance in every game despite a miserable defense that finished 111th out of 125 teams by allowing more than 475 yards per game. Sometimes it seemed like Manziel had to score a touchdown on every single drive just for A&M to have a chance, and sometimes Manziel did just that.

More than that, Manziel was a national icon that elevated the football program as well as the university, where donations and giving reached an all-time high and the team became one of the most buzz-worthy in the country. His fearless improvisation and willingness to never give up on plays, combined with a cartoonish Texas bravado and edgy hard-partying ways, turned him into a legend whose every move generated national headlines.

Trouble and controversy has continued to follow Manziel to the NFL, where he endured a disappointing rookie season while taking heavy criticism from within the organization for an unprofessional approach before landing in rehab. But regardless of whether he becomes even a viable NFL starter, Manziel will go down as one of the best and most impactful SEC players of the 21st century.

Career numbers: In two seasons, Manziel threw for 7,820 passing yards, ran for 2,169 yards and combined for 93 total touchdowns.

Individual superlatives: 2012 — Heisman Trophy, AP Player of the Year, SEC Offensive Player of the Year, consensus All-American, first-team All-SEC, Davey O’Brien Award, Manning Award; 2013 — Heisman finalist, first-team All-SEC, SEC Male Athlete of the Year.

NFL draft: No. 22 overall to the Cleveland Browns in 2014.