Read Online The QB: The Making of Modern Quarterbacks by Bruce Feldman - Free Book Online
Authors: Bruce Feldman
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signee from that class, Jarvis Harrison, ranked by online recruiting analysts as a “two-star” prospect, became a three-year starter on the line. In all, Sherman signed six offensive linemen in that crop, which will go down as one of the best line classes in college football history. (The other two guys barely cracked the Aggies’ depth chart.)
When it comes to recruiting quarterbacks, college coaches have to be more selective. After all, you can only play one at a time. Plus, egos often get bruised. Sherman always reminded his staff that you can’t afford to miss on a quarterback, because if you pick the wrong guy, your program is in trouble. Sherman only needed to look a few hours down the road to Texas. Longtime coach Mack Brown targeted the wrong QBs in back-to-back classes, turning off a few local quarterbacks whom he only saw as college defensive backs, at best, and they ended up stars in other places, while UT plummeted from the Top 25 rankings. That growing list of Longhorn misses includedBaylor’s Robert Griffin III (from Copperas Cove, Texas); Stanford’s Andrew Luck (from Houston), Arizona’s Nick Foles (from Austin), and A&M’s own Ryan Tannehill (from Big Spring, Texas). Johnny Manziel grew up dreaming of being a Longhorn, too. He spoke of bleeding Burnt Orange. His high school coach said that even if Brown had only offered Manziel a scholarship to Texas to play defensive back, the kid would’ve jumped at it. Brown, though, was skeptical of Manziel’s size and whether he could stand in the pocket and throw the ball well enough and never offered him a scholarship. A handful of smaller colleges—Tulsa, Louisiana Tech, and Rice among them—told Manziel they’d love to have him as their quarterback.
But it was the programs he wanted the most—Texas and TCU—that weren’t believers. That hurt Manziel. Scarred him. But three years later, he would concede—just as Jordan Palmer asserted about the short high school quarterback who idolized Johnny Football—that he hated being doubted so much that he actually loved it. It
worked
for him.
“He wasn’t very tall, and I thought, ‘Maybe some people would get hung up on his height; hopefully they will,’ but not all of them did,” said then–Louisiana Tech coach Sonny Dykes. “I thought he was ‘a three-play guy,’ where you just go, ‘Whoa!’ and watch for three plays and realize he’s got something special. He ran around and threw it good enough. He just made so many plays with his feet, keeping plays alive.”
Manziel’s personality had a mischievous edge to it, as well. Just as Favre had, the young Texan could become his own worst enemy. Manziel came from a wealthy family with deep ties in oil and real estate. He often carried himself off the field as if the rules didn’t apply to him, and on the football field he sure played as if they didn’t, either, which, truth be told, is what made him special. But his coaches loved him, and so did his teammates, because they respected his heart as much as his talent. And, when it comes to football, veteran scouts will tell you, heart is a talent. During their homecoming game against Uvalde High School, Tivy was winning in a blowout. Manziel concocted a plan to get seldom-used teammate 5′5″, 120-pound Robert Martinez to score a touchdown.
“Johnny was about to score a touchdown, but instead he slides down near the goal line and calls a time-out,” said Mark Smith, Tivy High’s coach. “ ‘Coach, we want Robert Martinez to score a touchdown. Put him in at running back.’ ”
“But he’s not a running back,” Smith told Manziel.
“Don’t worry,” Manziel replied. “I’ll get him into the end zone.”
Manziel literally dragged Martinez into the end zone.
During the summer before his senior year at Tivy, Manziel and his family traveled out west in hopes of increasing his options—and his profile. Their first stop was the University of Oregon’s camp. Ducks head coach Chip
When it comes to recruiting quarterbacks, college coaches have to be more selective. After all, you can only play one at a time. Plus, egos often get bruised. Sherman always reminded his staff that you can’t afford to miss on a quarterback, because if you pick the wrong guy, your program is in trouble. Sherman only needed to look a few hours down the road to Texas. Longtime coach Mack Brown targeted the wrong QBs in back-to-back classes, turning off a few local quarterbacks whom he only saw as college defensive backs, at best, and they ended up stars in other places, while UT plummeted from the Top 25 rankings. That growing list of Longhorn misses includedBaylor’s Robert Griffin III (from Copperas Cove, Texas); Stanford’s Andrew Luck (from Houston), Arizona’s Nick Foles (from Austin), and A&M’s own Ryan Tannehill (from Big Spring, Texas). Johnny Manziel grew up dreaming of being a Longhorn, too. He spoke of bleeding Burnt Orange. His high school coach said that even if Brown had only offered Manziel a scholarship to Texas to play defensive back, the kid would’ve jumped at it. Brown, though, was skeptical of Manziel’s size and whether he could stand in the pocket and throw the ball well enough and never offered him a scholarship. A handful of smaller colleges—Tulsa, Louisiana Tech, and Rice among them—told Manziel they’d love to have him as their quarterback.
But it was the programs he wanted the most—Texas and TCU—that weren’t believers. That hurt Manziel. Scarred him. But three years later, he would concede—just as Jordan Palmer asserted about the short high school quarterback who idolized Johnny Football—that he hated being doubted so much that he actually loved it. It
worked
for him.
“He wasn’t very tall, and I thought, ‘Maybe some people would get hung up on his height; hopefully they will,’ but not all of them did,” said then–Louisiana Tech coach Sonny Dykes. “I thought he was ‘a three-play guy,’ where you just go, ‘Whoa!’ and watch for three plays and realize he’s got something special. He ran around and threw it good enough. He just made so many plays with his feet, keeping plays alive.”
Manziel’s personality had a mischievous edge to it, as well. Just as Favre had, the young Texan could become his own worst enemy. Manziel came from a wealthy family with deep ties in oil and real estate. He often carried himself off the field as if the rules didn’t apply to him, and on the football field he sure played as if they didn’t, either, which, truth be told, is what made him special. But his coaches loved him, and so did his teammates, because they respected his heart as much as his talent. And, when it comes to football, veteran scouts will tell you, heart is a talent. During their homecoming game against Uvalde High School, Tivy was winning in a blowout. Manziel concocted a plan to get seldom-used teammate 5′5″, 120-pound Robert Martinez to score a touchdown.
“Johnny was about to score a touchdown, but instead he slides down near the goal line and calls a time-out,” said Mark Smith, Tivy High’s coach. “ ‘Coach, we want Robert Martinez to score a touchdown. Put him in at running back.’ ”
“But he’s not a running back,” Smith told Manziel.
“Don’t worry,” Manziel replied. “I’ll get him into the end zone.”
Manziel literally dragged Martinez into the end zone.
During the summer before his senior year at Tivy, Manziel and his family traveled out west in hopes of increasing his options—and his profile. Their first stop was the University of Oregon’s camp. Ducks head coach Chip
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