HOOVER, Ala. – The circus surrounding the 2013 Southeastern Conference Media Days was at an all-time high on Day 2 with the presence of Texas A&M and its sophomore quarterback Johnny Manziel.
Head coach Kevin Sumlin was the first coach up to the podium on Wednesday and managed to not mention Manziel during his nine minute opening statement. When asked about his quarterback’s busy offseason in his first question, Sumlin said it’s a learning process for Manziel to handle the rise in popularity he’s faced since winning the Heisman trophy.
“I think off the field, there’s no question that he’s made some mistakes,” Sumlin said. “I think today will be a great experience for a lot of people because he has made some mistakes.”
But Sumlin took some of the credit in Manziel’s recent off-the-field antics. He said the Aggies are not perfect in the way they do things in College Station, Texas.
“Is our system perfect? No. Is he perfect? No,” Sumlin said. “I think he has done some things that he’s not very proud of, has made some poor decisions. He’s made some good decisions. Unfortunately, the poor decisions are the ones that are really publicized.”
Manziel recently left the Manning Passing Academy – which is put on annually by Peyton and Eli Manning – early after missing a meeting. He said it had nothing to with anything he did the night before.
“I simply overslept. There’s nothing more to talk about, and the rumors about [being hungover] weren’t really true,” Manziel said. “I just overslept and missed a meeting.”
Manziel’s offseason has been the top headline surrounding the Texas A&M program, and it has no doubt been a distraction for the other players.
However, offensive tackle Jake Matthews says he isn’t paying attention to the headlines involving his quarterback.
“I don’t concern myself with those things,” Matthews said. “I know Johnny’s a great competitor, and I know he’ll be ready when the season comes around.”
Manziel, Matthews and defensive back Toney Hurd Jr. represented the Aggies in Hoover, and they couldn’t escape questions concerning Alabama.
The Crimson Tide and Aggies will meet on Sept. 14 in College Station, and the matchup is one of the most anticipated for the 2013 season.
“There really isn’t anything bigger than that game that I can think of,” Matthews said. “That was a special game and just a special moment for our university and our team. Really showed us what we were capable of.”
Manziel and Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron have dealt a lot with each other since the two met on the field a season ago, and Manziel said they have developed a great relationship off the field that isn’t filled with trash talk.
“He’s a great quarterback, and he’s done a lot,” Manziel said. “He can sit there and talk about the rings. I can sit there and talk about the [Heisman] trophy. I want what he has, and he might want what I have. He’s a good dude and a lot of fun to be around.”
McCarron also attended the Manning Passing Academy and actually roomed with Manziel. Manziel was asked why McCarron didn’t bother to wake him up to go to the meeting.
“I don’t know,” Manziel said. “Maybe he was off doing his own thing. Maybe he thought I would get up or whatever. But I definitely don’t pin that on him. That was my fault.”
Manziel and McCarron are friends now, but once September rolls around they will set aside their newly-formed friendship and try to outscore the other.
Manziel gave the typical answer when asked about Alabama but also showed his realization of the monumental matchup.
“I’m preparing for Rice first and for most, but I know Alabama is such an important team with Coach Saban and AJ and those guys,” Manziel said. “It’s a big game. There’s a lot of hype around it, but we have two more before that. But we really are looking forward to the opportunity to playing Alabama again early in the season at home.”
