Well … this may take some getting used to!
At the beginning of an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show on Monday (which can be seen on YouTube), Manziel mentioned “I have a little update for you … I actually go by John these days.” Patrick asked, “Is this breaking news, and swiftly played the breaking news audio. Patrick asked, “So you’re all grown up?” Manziel laughingly replied “Getting there I, guess!”
Manziel said, “I’m just kind of turning over the page and moving forward a little bit.” Now is probably as good of time as ever, in terms of turning over a new leaf and reinventing himself.
This is nothing new, we’ve heard him referred to as John before or even calling himself John years before this, but it does seem a bit more official. His insurance is officially lower … Things are changing! Of course, fans will probably take a while to shake the affectionate nomenclature, but at 26, Johnathan Paul Manziel is no newcomer to reinvention.
Patrick asked Manziel about his future/football future and then moved to how the sudden implosion of the AAF went down. You can listen to the 12-minute interview for yourself, but to recap,
“Right now … obviously with the news coming out last week … and walking out to the practice field and expecting to go through another day on the field, and seeing how quickly the AAF evaporated, it caught me by surprise a little bit because I was having so much fun in Memphis. Probably as much fun as as I had at my last game at Texas A&M versus Duke.”
Manziel continued, “My plan moving forward is to wake up every day to with a plan to get back on the field, to continue working on my craft, whether that’s working in San Diego with George Whitfield, and continuing to try to get back to what I feel like I was … a little bit like a surgeon with a football in my hand. I feel good and I am going to continue to keep my head down do what matters the most to me and that is football.
Patrick asked how Manziel found out about the disbanding of the AAF. “We were getting dressed for practice … ” and he said they were told to take our pads off and go to the meeting room … “from the second we got to the meeting room it was a different vibe than from what we normally get from walking into the building.” Coach Singletary sat us down and kept it pretty real and said they were sent home for the day, and they would keep us posted.
“Are you the greatest quarter back in Memphis Express history,” Patrick asked. “Ummm, I —I don’t think so,” Manziel slowly said, “Brandon Silvers for what he did in the short time he was there was totally clutch.”
“Okay —you are one of the top two … ” said Patrick.
“Okay, I’ll take that — I like Christian Hackenberg a lot … ” Manziel started, but Patrick quickly interrupted him with “— No NO NO … You were better than Christian Hackenberg.”
Patrick then asked, “Have you heard from an NFL team that will help you to triump?”
“You know, I’ve kind of left a lot of it up to my agent … ” Manziel said he had had some instances in the last couple of years where he got his hopes up a little bit, but he is taking things one day at a time and going with the flow. “I have open communication with some of the coaches in the league, and I’m taking it day by day, and hoping to make the best of what is going on.”
Patrick asked why Manziel was no longer in the CFL. Manziel was candid and said that he was “Looking back on my time going to Canada, I was so hungry to get back on the field and play that I took the first opportunity to get back on the field. When I looked up on things a year later, they were exactly the way they were when I originally signed with June Jones … I have no regrets about going to Canada.
Patrick: You’re decision or their decision? Manziel replied, “I don’t really know about going into a ton of details sbout what happened, but looking back now, I’m happy.”
“Memphis was exactly what I needed in my life from the first day I walked on the practice field and got to see 11 guys on the field. Things were slow for me again … It was perfect for me and I had not regrets about it.”
Patrick asked what Manziel thought about the current QB landscape in the NFL. Manziel said that a lot of things are changing to tailor schemes to the QB’s, regardless of size which is a big key to setting QB’s up for success.
Manziel said he is willing to explore a career in sports or even other media opportunities. He says he is willing to put in the work to be where he wants to be. He seems to be willing to do about anything in the sports world. And we all know he would be incredibly successful in whatever he lands in.
There is quite a lot of great conversation that occurs in this entertaining and informative interview … including a great exchange on John’s favorite movies and what he has been up to lately. Take a listen and let us know what you think.
Meanwhile, The Spring League is partnering with the XFL to test a new two-point conversion shootout alternative to overtime. In this new scheme, both offenses take turns, alternating multiple snaps (not sure how long this continues, though). According to PFT the XFL will also be testing out the “revolutionary” overtime idea.
Will JOHN Manziel take another look at TSL? We haven’t heard, but we’ll keep you posted.
In the meanwhile, remember to keep him and his teammates in your thoughts as they navigate the fresh new opportunities that are hopefully coming their way now that the AAF is a thing of the past.
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Photo courtesy of The Dan Patrick Show
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