Johnny Manziel with the Heisman Trophy.
Reigning Heisman Trophy Award winner Johnny Manziel faces a lot of pressure heading into 2013. Texas A&M has their eyes set on making a National Championship run, and anything short of another Heisman campaign from Manziel would be considered a disappointment. However, a lot of talk surrounding the redshirt sophomore will be his transition from college to the pros.
It is widely speculated that, given he has a healthy and productive 2013 season, Manziel will declare for the NFL draft. While he is a dominant, somewhat unconventional college quarterback already, many people still have questions about him when it comes to the pro game. He is not in that Tim Tebow category, but he is not in an Andrew Luck category either. So just how much success can he have?
One of the knocks coming into college was that Manziel might not be the most accurate passer. He proved most of those people wrong in 2012, completing 68% of his passes while throwing 26 touchdowns against a tough schedule. His legs get most of the attention, simply because most quarterbacks don’t rush for 1409 yards and 21 touchdowns in a season. He won’t be able to run as much in the NFL, but his arm is better than most give him credit for.
Height has always been an issue for Manziel, and he isn’t going to grow any taller than his current 6’”. However, Russell Wilson proved just last season that height in the NFL can sometimes be too much of a factor. He slipped in the draft in 2012, and now he is one of the most promising signal callers in the league and will be fought over in fantasy football drafts.
There will be some adjustments that Manziel has to make at the pro level, but that is the case with any quarterback. He breaks out of the pocket way too quickly, even by college standards. Once he trusts his arm more, he will cut that down.
