Johnny Manziel celebrates after a play during a game earlier this season.
Courtesy Tanner Garza | The Battalion
Is it possible to stop Johnny Manziel? Most likely not. Is it possible to contain him? Maybe. The Texas A&M sophomore quarterback and last year’s Heisman Trophy winner has been demolishing defenses and putting up video game like numbers for nearly a year and a half now, and this Saturday, he will take the field in Oxford to take on another Southeastern Conference defense in Ole Miss.
A lot has been said on ways to slow Manziel down. Many say it can’t be done, but right now, all the Ole Miss coaching staff can do is prepare and hope for the best.
“You have to be multiple,” Freeze said. “You can’t just give them one thing.There are no bad coaches in this league, and they have tremendous players so they will make adjustments if they get a beat on exactly what you’re doing.
“We did have a good plan (last year). We contained him for the better part of three quarters, but in the fourth quarter he showed why he won the Heisman Trophy. We’ll look at last year’s (tape) very closely and use what we thought was good, and try to mix in some new stuff. We were able to create some turnovers last year which was big.”
Ole Miss did play Manziel just as good as anyone did last season. Of course, that’s not saying much. Last season against the Rebels, Manziel threw for 191 yards and a touchdown and also added 129 yards on the ground with a touchdown despite having three turnovers. The dual-threat quarterback would go on to lead the Aggies to an 11-2 record and a Cotton Bowl victory, but the most impressive aspect of it was a 6-2 conference record in Texas A&M’s inaugural season in the SEC.
Although the Aggies had a successful year overall, it was Manziel’s performance throughout the year that caught everyone’s attention. In route to the Heisman, Manziel racked up 3,706 yards through the air with 26 touchdowns and also added 1,410 yards on the ground with 21 touchdowns. Manziel surpassed former Auburn quarterback Cam Newton’s record of total offense in a season with 5,116 yards.
His domination of defenses is nothing new for Manziel, though. As a senior in high school, Manziel took over the state of Texas with his scrambling antics going for 1,674 yards and 30 touchdowns on the ground, while also adding 3,609 passing yards with 45 touchdowns.
However, the 6-foot-1 quarterback wasn’t a blue chip prospect coming out of high school.
Manziel was only a three-star recruit according to Rivals.com and his listed offers came from Texas A&M, Baylor, Oregon and Stanford, among others. After committing to the Aggies, Manziel was redshirted his freshman season and had to eventually fight for his starting job the spring before his second season. It’s safe to say, then first-year head coach Kevin Sumlin made the right choice.
With a Heisman Trophy under his belt, the pressure now falls on opposing defenses who are challenged with attempting to contain the mania that is Johnny Manziel. This week, the challenge falls on the shoulders of an Ole Miss team who is coming off two straight losses to Alabama and Auburn on the road.
Freeze said his coaching staff is “thinking out of the box” this week in their preparation to slow down the Aggie offensive attack, and it’s likely you’ll see Ole Miss use their 3-3-5 package they debuted last weekend at Auburn.
In that package, the Rebels had junior linebacker Serederius Bryant and sophomore linebacker Denzel Nkemdiche on the field at the same time. It makes Ole Miss more venerable upfront, but it puts more speed on the field to chase Manziel around.
“When you look at Manziel there is a lot you have to do to stop him,” Bryant said. “He won the Heisman last year, so we are just going to look into that and try to stop what he has going on.”
Manziel has quite a bit “going on” this season, both on and off the field. After a memorabilia and autographing scandal tainted the offseason and stole headlines for a while, Manziel shushed critics by coming out on fire to start the season.
In Texas A&M’s first five games this season, Manziel has thrown for 1,489 yards and 14 touchdowns and has also added 314 yards on the ground for three touchdowns. Although Manziel is typically admired for his quick feet and scrambling skills, it is his passing skills that many are taking notice of this season, including Ole Miss defensive coordinator Dave Wommack.
“As a thrower, I think (he’s developed) a lot,” Wommack said. “He hasn’t been running the ball as much, numbers of plays and yards for plays, that he did last year. Not that he can’t, or won’t, because he absolutely will, but I think he is more accurate throwing the ball. And I think he reads coverages better too.”
Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze agrees that Manziel has progressed as a passer, especially since seeing him in person last season.
“You notice he doesn’t mind standing in the pocket longer,” Freeze said. “He was a good thrower last year, too. We were hoping he wasn’t, but when you face him live, you realized he was. He certainly does not mind standing in the pocket longer this year. They probably worked on that to minimize some of the hits he takes and him developing as more of a complete quarterback. So yes, you can tell work has been put in on him doing that.”
Although his passing skills have improved, Ole Miss will not forget the threat he poses on the ground.
“He is probably one of the best I’ve seen from the standpoint of alluding tackles that there is,” Wommack said. “Manziel is so slippery, he’s quick and fast.”
Sophomore defensive back Mike Hilton most likely knows this best, after having to spy on Manziel during last season’s matchup. Hilton had three tackles, two tackles for a loss and a forced fumble in the game last season.
Since last year’s contest, Hilton has found a new home at corner, so it may be someone else’s task –– or several player’s task –– to spy Manziel. As for Hilton, he has some advice for his teammates.
“I just feel like you have to let it come to you,” Hilton said. “You have to be conservative. Everyone knows how he plays. He’s actually played more in the pocket this year, but he still has the ability to escape and make plays. We have to sit back and wait for him to come to us and make the play when it happens.”
With tons of focus going Manziel’s way for the majority of the game, the Rebel secondary will also have a huge role in attempting to stay with receivers when Manziel decides to improvise and extend a play.
“It’s pretty hard to keep them covered when he is running around for a long time,” sophomore safety Chief Brown said. “We’re working on that all this week.”
The Rebels will be working on it with sophomore defensive back and former high school and Southern Miss quarterback Anthony Alford mimicking Manziel as the scout team quarterback in practices this week.
“Anthony Alford is our best chance,” Freeze said. “We tell him to just scramble somewhere and throw it and see if we have it covered. He did a good job; that’s as good as we can do.”
In the end, Freeze knows it will take a total team effort to slow Manziel down. The offense will have to score a lot of points, and the defense will have to do whatever they can to slow Manziel. The Rebels have to take advantage of everything Texas A&M gives them. If they can do that and not make mistakes, Freeze knows they’ll have a shot at pulling the upset.
“You’re not going to stop him,” Freeze said, “but hopefully, contain him and give us a chance to be in it late in the game.”
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