For every Johnny Football fan, there are five people speaking out against him. The Texas A&M quarterback is not doing himself any favors as Manziel continues to be his own worst enemy. Saturday's season opener against Rice was no different from the roller coaster offseason the Heisman winner created for himself and now many are speaking out against his actions on the field.
After going through an offseason of Twitter drama, photos with NBA and hip hop stars and that little NCAA investigation, Manziel served his first-half suspension and then proceeded to get flagged for taunting. Not the best re-introduction to football. Former Chicago Bears linebacker turned Fox Sports 1 NFL commentator Brian Urlacher is not too thrilled with what he saw from Manziel.
"I'm not saying he's a punk, but he acted like a punk in that game," Urlacher said. "Like his coach said, guys are going to come after him all season long. He's the reigning Heisman winner. He's making plays out there and running around and running his mouth obviously, but he's going to have to learn to deal with that. He's such a good football player. It's just too bad he had to act like that. I'm pulling for the guy, I want him to do well."
The "punk" move Urlacher is referring to when Manziel drew a penalty in the third quarter after making an autograph gesture to a Rice defender, throwing some trash talking his opponent's way. He also made money-counting gestures after his touchdown passes. The behavior saw the quarterback getting benched and scolded by head coach Kevin Sumlin.
"Foolish penalty," Sumlin said, via ESPN.com. "No matter what the comments are, he's going to face that every week with people chirping. That's not OK, and obviously I addressed that on the sideline after it happened."
Manziel does have one NFL player in his corner. Baltimore Ravers quarterback Joe Flacco is loving Manziel and rooting for his success in both college and the NFL.
"I don't know if I'll be too popular for this," Flacco said, via ESPN.com. "But I don't know how I really felt about Johnny Manziel, but I feel like now everyone hates him. He's quickly becoming my favorite player in college football."
Manziel will continue to be a fixture in the college football headlines. While some consider him a lock to win the Heisman trophy another year before leaving for the NFL, Teddy Bridgewater and Jameis Winston will do their best to make sure that does not happen.
