Texas A&M legend Johnny Manziel stepped into “Club Shay Shay” this week to have an in-depth and honest conversation with Pro Football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe on his podcast.
The 2012 Heisman Trophy winner discussed several topics including his time in Aggieland, experience in the NFL and personal struggles with mental health.
Manziel mentioned the hypocrisy of his former Aggies head coach, Kevin Sumlin.
“I love that guy and we were best buddies,” Manziel recalled. “But how do you have a guy telling you how to live, put away the partying and all that, when he’s doing the same thing behind doors?
“What made him great is no longer with him, I don’t see the spark.”
According to Manziel, he was a major factor in the recruitment of quarterback Kyler Murray to College Station. However, Sumlin is ultimately the reason why the future Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall pick transferred to Oklahoma.
“I played a huge hand in bringing Kyler Murray to Texas A&M,” Manziel proclaimed. “That mistake is keeping us from being where we want to be now. They should’ve given him the keys. I worked my a** off to get him to A&M, he wanted to be like me. I have extremely strong and mixed emotions about that.”
Long before the days of NIL endorsements, Manziel was faced with a decision on whether he should enter the 2014 NFL Draft or stay at Texas A&M. His father, Paul, asked Sumlin for $2-3 million to get Johnny Football to stay for one more season, which the younger Manziel claims he didn’t find out until 2019.
“@RealSkipBayless, I love you bro. I honestly feel like I let him down. … This ‘Johnny Manziel will be bigger than LeBron.’ It was never ever going to be a reality.” – @JManziel2
Full episode is streaming now wherever you listen to your podcasts and on YouTube. pic.twitter.com/SQJRLGiDc1
— Club Shay Shay (@ClubShayShay) February 21, 2024
Simultaneously, Kliff Kingsbury was attempting to become the highest-paid offensive coordinator in college football to “run it back with Johnny.” However, that ultimately didn’t happen.
“Kevin walked away from both of us,” Manziel said.
Manziel’s mental health took a turn for the worse after he was drafted in the first round by the Cleveland Browns. Even while living in the same city as his idol LeBron James, Money Manziel’s struggles overcame him.
“I remember, this is how bad off I was whenever I was in Cleveland,” Manziel recalled. “LeBron would text me every week to come over to the house and watch a game or play poker with the boys and just tried to be there. I was so depressed for the first time in my life that even my biggest role model and inspiration in my life couldn’t get me out of bed to come hang out with him.
“When I went to the Cavs games, I went, I was in, I was out, I didn’t really grasp and latch on to him in a way that I should’ve. He tries to take me under his wing and I was just kinda nudging it away because of where my mental is and being fully depressed in where I was in my life.
“Is that an excuse? Absolutely not, because at the end of the day, the respect that I should have for them giving me everything should trump all else.”
The interview in its entirety can be viewed on YouTube.
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