Manziel's tweet causes stir on Texas A&M campus

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on June 20, 2013 1:47 PM

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Pressing "delete" may have erased Johnny Manziel's tweet early Sunday morning, but the ramifications are still there.

The Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback from Texas A&M tweeted early Sunday morning, "Bull (expletive) like tonight is a reason why I can't wait to leave College Station ... whenever it may be."

Manziel quickly deleted the tweet and later tweeted, "Don't ever forget that I love A&M with all of my heart, but please please walk a day in my shoes."

A recent review of where Manziel's shoes have taken him may cause Aggies' fans or followers of college football to reconsider spending a day in his footsteps.

Prior to the 2012 season, Manziel appeared to be a long shot to win the starting QB job for the Aggies. He was suspended for the 2012 season after a June 29 arrest for fighting, failure to identify and possession of fake identification in College Station.

The school's Dean of Student Life overturned the suspension.

Manziel won the quarterback job and eventually turned in one of the greatest individual seasons in college football history. He threw for 3,706 yards and 26 touchdowns, while rushing for another 1,409 yards and 21 TDs.

A&M burst onto the national scene when Manziel orchestrated a 29-24 upset of eventual national champion Alabama. He eventually earned the Heisman Trophy and his popularity has skyrocketed since.

Manziel has been on late-night television, spotted with celebrities and has seen his twitter allegiance reach over 360,000 followers.

Yes, the 21-year-old phenom is still a college student and the unquestioned big man on campus at A&M. But Manziel obviously has some maturing to do.

Living in the public spotlight and being not only the face of a college football program, but a university, includes an incredible amount of responsibility. Everyone from senior citizens to children have a cell phones now and Manziel's tweets -- deleted or not -- don't go unnoticed. He may be an overnight rock star, but he's also a quarterback, and quarterbacks are expected to lead with their actions, not with their tweets.

Manziel is blessed with incredible talent and his ability to improvise when plays break down can cause nightmares for defenses. He would be wise to focus on the upcoming season, particularly a Sept. 14 rematch with Alabama in College Station.

It's time for Manziel to spend more time concentrating on what earned him the nickname "Johnny Football."

It sure wasn't Twitter.