Sporting News

Johnny Manziel wins Heisman Trophy, makes history as first freshman to win

NEW YORK—Winning the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night was a triumph not only for Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel, but also for the Heisman voters, who stayed true to the award's voting criteria, and not to unwritten rules in making Manziel the first freshman to capture the award.

Manziel, a redshirt freshman, threw for 3,419 yards and 24 touchdowns this season, while running for 1,181 yards and 19 touchdowns. He also had one of his best games in the brightest spotlight, completing 24-of-31 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns, while running for 92 more yards in Texas A&M's victory over then-No. 1 ranked Alabama—the only loss the defending national champion Crimson Tide suffered this season.

Heisman Trophy 2012: Texas A&M fans are excited over Johnny Manziel's Heisman win. (AP Photo)

"Just me being able to break that barrier, it's such an honor and so humbling for me to be the first freshman to win, and really, make history," Manziel said. "I can't explain it, because it's just truly an honor and something I'm so humbled by.

"For kids who come out of high school and into college, it doesn't matter what year you are. It doesn't matter if you're a freshman, or a true freshman—guess that's the next thing that there is to do. It doesn't matter who you are, if you work hard enough and have a great group of guys around you and a great university, great things can happen."

Manziel received 474 first-place votes, more than all other freshmen in Heisman history combined. Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson had been the closest first-year player to winning, finishing second to Matt Leinart in 2004. Manziel's vote total was just another record for the pride of Kerrville, Texas, as he also shattered the SEC record for total offense, and the NCAA freshman records for total offense and quarterback rushing yards.

"As I said earlier this year, you put his numbers up against anybody that has ever played the game for a single season, and the numbers will speak for themselves, and the voters will recognize that," Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin said. "And that's what happened."

The Heisman went to Manziel over a pair of seniors, Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o and Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein. For traditionalists who dislike the idea of a freshman winning the Heisman, there's always baseball, whose writers gave the American League MVP award this year to Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera over Angels rookie Mike Trout despite Trout’s superior all-around contributions. The fact that the Tigers made the playoffs and the Angels did not, even though Los Angeles had a better record, also played a role in that vote.

In this case, Te'o is taking Notre Dame to the BCS title game, while Klein led Kansas State to the Big 12 championship and a berth in the Fiesta Bowl. Manziel and Texas A&M did not make the BCS, settling for a Cotton Bowl matchup with Oklahoma. But the Heisman is an individual award, not a team trophy.

Klein and Te'o will not get another chance to win the Heisman, while Manziel will. Still, there is nothing in the Heisman guidelines that puts any weight on how old a candidate is. Had Te'o become the first linebacker to win, the same could be said of him, that there is nothing in the Heisman guidelines about a player's position.

"The Heisman Memorial Trophy annually recognizes the outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity," reads the Heisman mission statement. "Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard work."

All three of Saturday night's finalists fit the criteria, and the voters got it right by looking only at what the candidates did, not their classifications or positions. When the runners-up talked about Manziel, they praised him as a football player without those three words to cheapen it: "only a freshman."

"He just makes plays," said Te'o, who has seen plenty of Manziel's exploits while watching tape to prepare to face Alabama in the national title game. "He's always on ESPN, just making plays, just running around like a human video game."

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Said Klein: "Watching Johnny, when stuff starts going wrong, he's able to make plays, and turn a whole lot of negatives into major, major positives for his team and for his offense. He's a fun player to watch and makes a lot of things happen."

He has now made history happen, becoming forever part of the Heisman legacy.

When the Downtown Athletic Club decided to start honoring excellence on the college gridiron in 1935, the "DAC Trophy" was awarded "to the Outstanding College Football Player East of the Mississippi River,” the award that year going to University of Chicago senior running back Jay Berwanger.

The award was renamed for John Heisman after the legend's death the following year, and went to Larry Kelley, Yale's senior end. The geographic distinction went away in 1936, as Nebraska senior fullback Sam Francis was the No. 2 vote-getter.

The next Heisman went to Yale senior Clint Frank, the first quarterback to win the award, and there have been other firsts along the way. The first junior was Army fullback Doc Blanchard in 1942; the first African-American was Syracuse running back Ernie Davis in 1961; the first (and only) back-to-back winner was Ohio State running back Archie Griffin in 1974 and 1975; the first defensive player was Michigan cornerback and kick returner Charles Woodson in 1997; and the first underclassman to win was Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, a sophomore in 2007. Now, Manziel is the first freshman.

If Manziel's victory does not seem so groundbreaking, consider the different rules that are applied to freshmen throughout college football. Sumlin, for instance, does not allow his first-year players to speak to the media—a ban that finally was lifted for Manziel after the regular season because of his Heisman candidacy.

"There was kind of a question mark about me, whether I could speak or not," said Manziel, who praised Sumlin for the way he handled the situation. "It's good to let people know that I can talk just like everybody else."

Just like everybody else. Manziel is a football player—the best of the college ranks this year. The Heisman Trophy itself depicts a football player, carrying a football and delivering a stiff-arm as he moves ever forward. Saturday night, Manziel brought that forward motion to life.

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