Tag: USC Trojan Football

Texas A&M legend Johnny Manziel elaborates on choice to step away from Heisman Trophy ceremony

“You can back a brinks truck up to my house and I still will not attend the ceremony or do ANYTHING involved until Reggie’s trophy is back.”

After announcing early on Saturday morning that he was removing himself from the Heisman Trophy ceremony in support of former USC running back Reggie Bush, Texas A&M legend Johnny Manziel elaborated on his decision on social media this weekend.

“You can back a Brinks truck up to my house and I still will not attend the ceremony or do ANYTHING involved until Reggie’s trophy is back where it rightfully belongs,” Manziel proclaimed via X. “This is about doing what’s right for everyone involved. Reggie’s play on the field inspired me to be the football player that I am.

“To the Heisman Trust, I hope you understand my position. You know that I have nothing but love and respect for that trophy and the people associated with it. It changed my life for the better, forever, and I will be eternally grateful for that until my last day on this earth. The bond and the brotherhood mean more than anything else. That’s truly what makes the fraternity so special.”

X user Dylan Powell (@PowellAnalytics) replied to Manziel‘s initial tweet and sarcastically said, “Should probably change that profile pic then too Johnny.”

“You never change something that’s rooted in your soul,” Manziel stated. “That Heisman means more to me than anything in this world.”

In the era of NIL, Manziel pointed out how much money former USC and LSU quarterbacks, Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels, respectively made in 2023.

“The last two Heisman Trophy winners made a combined 12 million last year, but Reggie can’t get his trophy back?” Manziel pondered.

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‘Reggie IS the Heisman trophy’: Johnny Manziel removes himself from ceremony in support of Bush

“I will be humbly removing myself from the Heisman trophy ceremony until Reggie Bush gets his trophy back,” Manziel said via X on Saturday.

If you’re like me or many others in Aggieland, you woke up Saturday morning to a bold proclamation posted to X by legendary Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel.

Manziel, who was the first freshman in history to win the Heisman Trophy in 2012, will be stepping away from the annual ceremony. Manziel is taking an indefinite absence until former USC running back Reggie Bush reclaims the award he won in 2005, which he voluntarily forfeited in 2010 amid NCAA investigations.

“After careful thought and consideration, I will be humbly removing myself from the Heisman trophy ceremony until Reggie Bush gets his trophy back,” Manziel stated on social media. “Doesn’t sit right with my morals and values that he can’t be on that stage with us every year. Reggie IS the Heisman trophy.

“Do the RIGHT thing NCAA the ball is in your court.

“Much love

“JM2”

Given the NIL era that we all live in today, that should’ve been introduced and regulated decades ago, Johnny is right.

The NCAA should not only restore Bush’s legacy but after everything they’ve put him through over the last 19 years, he deserves his own recognition ceremony in December. That is, of course, before junior QB Conner Weigman hoists the Heisman later in the evening and brings home College Station’s third illustrious trophy.

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Opinion: USA Today gives Texas A&M football program a harsh grade for 2023 season

USA Today college sports reporter Paul Myberg released his 2023 season grades for all 133 Football Bowl Subdivision teams on Wednesday morning and the grade he gave Texas A&M is harsh, to say the least.

USA Today college sports reporter Paul Myberg released his 2023 season grades for all 133 Football Bowl Subdivision teams on Wednesday morning and the grade he gave Texas A&M is harsh, to say the least.

The Aggies were 1-of-12 teams that Myberg gave a solid D to. Texas A&M (7-6) had the second-most wins in the group, only trailing USC (8-5). However, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner and consensus No. 1 overall pick was not under center at Kyle Field this season.

Former head coach Jimbo Fisher was fired on Nov. 12, hours after the Aggies smashed Mississippi State by a final score of 51-10. At that point, Texas A&M was 6-4 overall with three of its losses against ranked teams: No. 11 Alabama, No. 19 Tennessee & No. 11 Ole Miss. The other defeat came in Week 2 at Miami.

Whether or not Fisher should’ve been dismissed is an argument for another day. The overall point is that a D grade is a bit harsh in my opinion. If the Aggies were still in high school, that would be considered a passing grade.

Texas A&M is a university though and to say the 2023 season was a complete failure is inaccurate. The Aggies lost their starting quarterback, sophomore Conner Weigman, in Week 4 to a season-ending foot injury.

Even after firing its leader, Texas A&M completed the campaign with a winning record. So to say the season was a complete failure is inaccurate. In my opinion, the Aggies should’ve received a C- for what they overcame during 2023.

Nevertheless, the Mike Elko era is officially underway and everyone in Aggieland is moving on to greener pastures in 2024.

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Former Texas A&M senior nose guard Isaiah Raikes chooses USC in transfer portal

The 6-foot-2, 320-pound native of Woodbury, N.J. entered the portal on Dec. 21. He transfers to the Trojans program with one year of collegiate eligibility remaining.

Former Texas A&M senior defensive lineman Isaiah Raikes has chosen the University of Southern California as his next home via the NCAA Transfer Portal.

Raikes announced his commitment Tuesday afternoon on X.

“God is my Lord and Savior,” Raikes stated. “He has never led me wrong.”

The 6-foot-2, 320-pound native of Woodbury, N.J. entered the portal on Dec. 21. The senior nose guard transfers to the Trojans program with one year of collegiate eligibility remaining.

After proclaiming his decision to depart Aggieland, speculation began on where Raikes may be headed. Given that he hails from New Jersey, some thought that he could be headed home to the East Coast to join former teammate and coach, Fadil Diggs & Elijah Robinson, at Syracuse. However, he’s headed to the West Coast instead to play for head coach Lincoln Riley.

Raikes opted to forgo a redshirt season during his freshman campaign in College Station, appearing in six games during the COVID-shortened 2020 season. Due to the pandemic, he has an extra year of eligibility.

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Opinion: NIL revenue earned by student-athletes should be placed in a trust

In the Name, Image and Likeness era, student-athletes are being offered boatloads of money to play for certain universities, as they should.

Texas A&M sophomore wide receiver Evan Stewart officially entered the NCAA Transfer Portal on Tuesday according to reports.

The move is likely less about fit but more so how Stewart can maximize his value in college. In the new era of Name, Image and Likeness, student-athletes are being offered boatloads of money to play for certain universities, as they should.

According to Rivals reporter Landyn Rosow, Alabama and USC are the frontrunners to land Stewart’s services. Stewart is slotted at No. 14 in the On3 NIL rankings, with an expected valuation of $1.4 million, an increase of $288,000 since entering the portal on Tuesday.

Back in 2019, California was the first state to allow collegiate athletes to profit from their NIL. Even before that, I’ve argued that the students should be compensated, given the millions and billions of dollars that Power Five universities haul in yearly.

However, a majority of student-athletes are still very young. Therefore, the best way to maximize NIL for both parties is to protect the athletes and put NIL earnings in a trust for the players.

Less than 2% of student-athletes go on to play professional sports. Sure, a future NFL Draft pick may not worry about spending a million dollars in college when tens and hundreds more are on the way. But that’s not the reality for most college athletes.

Imagine if you were a 21-year-old just given a million dollars. You probably wouldn’t make the most educated decisions on what to spend it on. Even if you think you would, stop lying to yourself.

Specifically in a hard-hitting sport like football, injuries happen constantly. In the respective cases of Eric LeGrand and Ryan Shazier, injuries ended their careers on the gridiron.

In Shazier’s situation, he at least made it to the NFL and earned over $18 million. But what if that injury occurred while he was still at The Ohio State University? Shazier would’ve been left with nothing but memories while the Buckeyes program raked in the dough.

Using Shazier as an example, he was a lock to be a first-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. If he were in college a decade later, he’d be maximizing his value like Stewart is attempting to do today. Current Buckeyes junior wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. has an NIL valuation of $1.4 million like Stewart.

The overall point is, what if Shazier spent all his NIL money banking on making millions more in the NFL, ultimately to have an injury dash those dreams in a millisecond?

Student-athletes should be protected from their youth negligence by establishing a trust that they can’t access in its entirety until departing college or turning 25 when the frontal lobe of the brain is fully developed.

Obviously, they would still have needs while in college for food, fun activities and things of that nature. If a trust were to be established, athletes could withdraw certain amounts, like a stipend for necessities.

College students don’t need to drive around in fancy cars like a Rolls-Royce, just ask the Greatest Of All Time.

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Report: 5-star QB Malachi Nelson, who took unofficial visit to Texas A&M in 2022, enters transfer portal

Texas A&M was the final school that Nelson visited in 2022 before choosing USC, so the Aggies may be at the top of his upcoming visits list.

Texas A&M sophomore defensive lineman Walter Nolen was the biggest name in the NCAA Transfer Portal — until the weekend concluded.

That distinction now belongs to USC true freshman quarterback Malachi Nelson. According to On3 Sports college sports business & transfer portal reporter Pete Nakos, the 5-star recruit officially entered the portal on Sunday night.

Nelson took an unofficial visit to Texas A&M on July 28, 2022. He signed his letter of intent with USC on Dec. 21. Now nearly one year later, Nelson is searching for his next destination.

Texas A&M was the final school that Nelson visited before formally committing to the Trojans, so the Aggies may be at the top of his list for an upcoming visit. Nelson is listed at 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds. He graduated from Los Alamitos High School in California last year.

According to 247Sports, Nolen remains ranked as the No. 1 transfer player available in the portal. Nelson is slotted as the No. 5 quarterback and No. 21 overall player.

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Johnny Manziel is clearly in favor of Reggie Bush getting his Heisman Trophy back

Like many of us, Aggie legend Johnny Manziel is in clear favor of Reggie Bush getting his Heisman back, but there’s a catch.

Former Texas A&M and Heisman-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel has resurfaced in the media after the exciting release of his short but explosive Netflix documentary, “Untold:Johnny Football,” last Tuesday, and after several revelations regarding his monetary-based activities pre-NIL (name, image likeness) coupled with his extensive substance abuse problems, Manziel finally looks to be back on a healthy, and hopefully happy track in his life at the young age of 30.

This week, Manziel found himself embroiled in yet another hot debate, this time relating to former star USC running back Reggie Bush’s revoked 2005 Heisman Trophy due to multiple NCAA violations were revealed just a year after departing for the NFL.

As we all remember, Reggie Bush was one of the greatest athletes to ever grace the college football landscape, racking up 3,169 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns, 1,301 receiving yards, and 13 touchdowns in three seasons with the Trojans.

During his 2005 junior campaign, Bush’s 1,750 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns earned him the Heisman at the end of the season, but after several reports in 2006 accused Bush and his family of receiving “improper benefits” from USC of nearly $300,000, the NCAA, in what seemed like a decade long investigation, practically destroyed the once elite USC football program, while leading to Reggie Bush’s official forfeit of his Heisman, voluntarily returning the award to the Heisman trust in 2012.

Getting back to the Heisman-related debate, Locked On 49ers host Eric Crocker’s tweet after watching the documentary spurred an exciting question that only Manziel himself could answer:

“I’m watching Johnny Manziel Untold. I’m confused by something. Manziel is on Netflix with his best friend talking about all the illegal stuff they were doing. What’s the difference between the stuff he’s doing and keeping his a heisman and Reggie Bush getting stripped of his?”

If you didn’t think Johnny Football wasn’t well aware that someone would point out the potential double standard, he also noted a slight difference in the timeframe of each player’s violations in accordance with when they received their respective Heismans.

“There is nothing I want to see more than for Reggie to get his Heisman back. I think what the NCAA did in that situation is complete bull****. He is one of the best college football players in history and deserves to be on that stage with us every year. The only difference between my story and Reggie’s is that my “illegal activities” did not start until after my Heisman season.”

There you have it. Even though most of us agree that stripping Bush of the award was utterly foolish and another example of the NCAA overstepping its bounds, good on Eric Crocker and Johnny Manziel to start up the conversation again, so maybe, just maybe, Reggie Bush will once again strike the Heisman pose with the award by his side.

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