Brett Favre compares Johnny Manziel to himself

Improvisational with a "go big or go home" attitude. A propensity for risk-taking that will leave you either jumping for joy or smashing the beer glass in your hand to pieces. The ability to zip any throw right on the money while also making occasional boneheaded plays that leave you wondering, "how could he?"

A lot of quarterbacks who fit that mold, but two that really encompass those traits are legendary Green Bay Packers signal-caller Brett Favre and NFL prospect Johnny Manziel, out of Texas A&M.

Through a recent interview with USA Today, Brett Favre revealed that he also felt that the play of Johnny Manziel was reminiscent of his early days. As with Manziel, Favre had a strong arm, and was able to run, utilizing a skill that many quarterbacks have not been able to master.

"I haven't watched him much," Favre told USA Today, "but one game I watched, for like three quarters, was the Ole Miss game. I almost thought I was watching film of a young Brett Favre. I didn’t think I did a lot of things well (in college at Southern Miss), but he did. And and I liked the attitude of ‘whatever it takes’ — from that standpoint, I liked him.” 

"I didn't throw near as well as him," Favre said of Manziel. "He may have that capability — unbelievable throws and can make plays with his feet. I was impressed."

Manziel will be one of the key players to keep an eye on in the draft, in addition to the upcoming NFL scouting combine, which is taking place this week. However, he doesn’t plan to throw for scouts and personnel executives until March 27th.

With a 6’0, 210 pound figure, he is also small for a quarterback. He has significant similarities to Russell Wilson in terms of their build, and playing style, and the young player has also credited Wilson, a recent Super Bowl winner, for giving shorter quarterbacks a chance in the NFL.

After an outstanding career with the Texas A&M Aggies, Manziel is ready to transition into the NFL. The two most likely destinations for him to end up seem to be with the Houston Texans or the Cleveland Browns. Who should get him? Is he able to become a star in the NFL in the same way that Russell Wilson has?

If Manziel can have anywhere close to the success that Favre had throwing the football, while also making his signature Johnny Football plays with his legs, Manziel could be absolutely sensational at the next level. It's just another reason that I feel he has the most upside of any quarterback in this draft class.

Texas A&M dismisses point guard J-Mychal Reese

 The Texas A&M men’s basketball program announced Saturday that sophomore guard J-Mychal Reese has been dismissed from the team following a violation of athletics department rules and regulations.

Reese had been one of A&M’s most heralded recruits in recent seasons, but had only occasionally shown flashes of becoming an adept Southeastern Conference guard. His father, John Reese, is an A&M assistant under coach Billy Kennedy, and neither son or father traveled to Houston for the 8-3 Aggies’ 64-52 nonconference loss to Oklahoma in the Toyota Center on Saturday evening.

The 6-foot-1 guard played in 39 games during his time as an Aggie, including six this season, averaging 6.3 points per contest for his A&M career. Multiple insiders say Reese's issues are linked to drug use.

Thoughts on week 3 in college football

I'll admit this is the first week I've really had a chance to watch a full slate of college football. It was a week in which we had near upsets, shootouts, and comeback wins.

Michigan over Akron- The Wolverines clearly had a hangover from the Notre Dame game and it showed. Michigan nearly suffered an upset of Appalachian State proportions to a team that has lost 28 straight road games and has suffered through three straight one win seasons in the Akron Zips. Pump the brakes on the Wolverine bandwagon for now. Quarterback Devin Gardner needs to learn the meaning of ball security and the defense has to play better if they expect to compete with Ohio State for the Big Ten championship. Give Akron credit for coming close and playing hard.

UCLA over Nebraska- The Bruins came into Lincoln with heavy hearts after the death of Nick Pasquale and played with a lot of early emotion. Unfortunately that emotion led to an early 21-3 deficit. The Bruins rallied in the second half and put up a combined 38 unanswered points in a 41-21 win. For the Huskers it was disappointing loss after looking like they were poised to run away with this game. UCLA made the adjustments and Nebraska failed to get the momentum back.

 "The second half was a lot like last year," Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said. "We made the tackles in the first half. I don't know how many tackles we missed in that second half but it is a lot. We missed tackle after tackle after tackle." 

Sounds almost like every big game the Huskers have played in since they've joined the Big Ten. If Pelini can't get it together and start winning some of those games he might find himself listening to the wolves howling for his job.

Alabama over Texas A&M- Billed as the SEC game of the century for this season, it lived up to the hype. Aggies quarterback Johnny Manziel didn't disappoint as the Aggies jumped out to a 14-0 lead. After that it was all Alabama, as the Tide rolled to 35 straight points to seize control of the game. Tide quarterback A.J. McCarron went 20-29 for 334 yards and 4 touchdowns. The 42 points and 628 total yards were the most allowed by an Alabama team, but it wasn't enough as Alabama has taken control of the SEC West division.
Maybe it's time to trumpet AJ Champion aka McCarron as a legit Heisman candidate.

Arizona State over Wisconsin- This game ended in controversy. The Badgers appeared to be robbed of a possible win by the officials. The Badgers were driving for a game winning field goal. Wisconsin quarterback Joel Stave appeared to take a knee to stop the clock and put the ball on the ground. A Sun Devil defender jumped on the ball and looked like it was a defensive delay of game. The officials spotted the ball and time ran out on the Badgers in this back and forth affair.

Oregon over Tennessee- It was a good week for the Pac-12 as the league racked up a number of 'name' wins this weekend. the Ducks once again steamrolled another opponent and they made their SEC foe look like a Sun Belt team. Fans chanted S-E-C and we want Bama. The Ducks have been impressive early but first take care of business in your own conference before calling out the champion like Clubber Lang.

Minnesota over Western Illinois- This game was significant because Golden Gophers head coach Jerry Kill was carted off on a stretcher after he suffered another seizure in their 29-12 win over  Western Illinois. Reports say he's resting comfortably in the hospital but you have to wonder if the administration at Minnesota might be thinking of moving on instead of keeping Kill around.

Ole Miss over Texas- The Rebels scored an impressive 44-23 win over the Longhorns. I guess it doesn't matter who the defensive coordinator is in Austin if the talent is going to underachieve. Coach Mack Brown might see the vultures circling if the Horns can't win the Oklahoma game. In all fairness starting quarterback David Ash didn't play but with the talent on hand in Austin this team has no excuses to be losing by three touchdowns at home.

Honorable mention- Ohio State looked impressive against California with backup quarterback Kenny Guiton at the controls....Notre Dame and South Carolina bounced back after week 2 losses, although it took the Irish awhile to get going...On a positive note Rutgers honored the paralyzed former player Eric LeGrand by retiring his number 52. It marked the first time in the 144-year history of the birthplace of college football that the university retired the number of a football player and this one was clearly loved by all in attendance.

Winners- Pac-12, Alabama, Rutgers, UCLA, Ole Miss, Marcus Mariota, AJ McCarron, Eric LeGrand    

Losers- Big Ten, Pac-12 officials, Texas    

Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd is picking Texas A&M over Alabama

You don't normally catch college players picking a winner in a big game, especially when there's a slight possibility that you could face one of those teams later on down the road.

That didn't stop Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd from picking Texas A&M over Alabama in this weekend's game of the week.

“Honestly? I got A&M,” said Boyd, whose No. 3 Tigers have Saturday off. “A lot of people say Saban won’t be beat twice; it’s at A&M. It’s going to be a competitive game. It’s going to be a fun game. I’m going to watch it. It’s going to be an intriguing game.”

I'm sure Nick Saban will have the Tide ready to go for this 'revenge' game, but it won't be easy for both teams.

If Clemson and Alabama happen to meet for the national title I'm sure Saban will make sure his team remembers that Boyd picked A&M over the Tide.  
 

Brady Hoke says Johnny Manziel would play behind Devin Gardner if he was at Michigan

Michigan head coach Brady Hoke made an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show to hype the upcoming game between Michigan and Notre Dame.

This game will be the last in the storied rivalry until further notice due to Notre Dame's ACC commitments.

During a question and answer session of the interview Hoke was asked about Texas A&M's Heisman winning quarterback Johnny Manziel. The answer Hoke gave Patrick surprised many.

Patrick:    "If Johnny Manziel's your quarterback …"

Hoke: "If Johnny Manziels's our quarterback, he'd probably be playing behind Devin Gardner"

"We try and educate the kids here that this has always been about the team, the team, the team," Hoke said. "If they're going to celebrate and they're going to express themselves, do it with your teammates. Do it with the other 10 guys who are on the field that helped you make whatever great play happen where you feel you need to celebrate. Grab a teammate. Get together with them."

Hoke isn't knocking Manziel's ability, just his character and being a good teammate.

Hoke obviously has faith in Gardner despite his relative inexperience, but any coach in the nation would probably take Manziel over their current starter unless it's Teddy Bridgewater or Tajh Boyd. If I left anyone out let me know.

This is what Hoke does. He sells his program and his players. He's all about Michigan and is intent on getting the Michigan brand into the conversation when you mention the elite programs in America. Besides, as a coach you have to pimp your own quarterback, even if he only has seven career starts under his belt.

Instilling trust in your players is part of your job, and this was the perfect answer.

Barry Switzer criticizes Johnny Manziel

Texas A&M Heisman winning quarterback Johnny Manziel has been under fire for his on field antics against Rice on Saturday.  His smack talk against Rice defenders and money flashing gestures stole the show in college football last week.

Former Oklahoma Sooners and Dallas Cowboys head coach Barry Switzer became the latest to put in his two cents about Manziel's actions.

In an interview on ESPN radio Switzer voiced his displeasure with Manziel.

“I’m certainly disappointed in his actions,” Switzer said. “For him to act so arrogant,€“ I wanted to jerk his face mask and I wanted to grab him,” Switzer went on to say. “Of course you get fired for that now; in the old days you could get away with that. It’s the world we live in. It’s a misplaced value system. When I see this happen I wonder where the core value system comes from, if he has a core value system. This young man needs a damn hell of a lot of development.” 

That's a mouthful coming from Switzer. The man who used to brag about putting up "half a hundred" on inferior opponents before halftime. Toward the end of his reign at Oklahoma you couldn't help but think of Switzer anytime you heard the words "renegade program". Switzer or his players weren't exactly known for their sportsmanship.

I won't lie, I was a fan of it. But it was a moment of the pot calling the kettle black that's all.

Hopefully for Johnny Football, he'll let his play do the talking for the rest of the season.

Deion Sanders is unhappy about Johnny Manziel's suspension

Today Texas A&M quarterback received a half game suspension from the NCAA for the autograph for pay allegations that had been floating around for the past few months.

The NCAA released a statement saying "that there is no evidence that quarterback Johnny Manziel received money in exchange for autographs, based on currently available information and statements by Manziel.”

Nice job with the swift punitive judgement. I don't know how others feel but former NFL All-Pro Deion Sanders isn't happy at all with the NCAA's decision.

If you can recall Sanders had dinner with receiver Dez Bryant when Bryant was at Oklahoma State. Bryant lied about it and was suspended for an entire season. So naturally Sanders voiced his displeasure with the NCAA.

1. DeionSanders ‏@DeionSanders2h

   Can we investigate the investigators? @DezBryant got suspended a season 4 lying about a dinner that wasnt a violation & Manziel gets a half.

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Maybe someone should ask A.J Green how he feels about the non suspension that Manziel received. I bet the Miami Hurricanes wished the NCAA would act as swiftly as they did for Texas A&M and Manziel.

The punishment is toothless and the NCAA rulebook is outdated. Sanders might want to be careful before the NCAA drops the hammer on his son and his SMU teammates.