Are Johnny Football's Extracurricular Activities Too Much For the NFL?

     Johnny Manziel is arguably the most polarizing player to come out of college since Tim Tebow in 2010. Although they both receive a lot of attention, they could not be more different.

     Tebow was known for his high morals- in the eyes of some, a little too high. He was public about his religion and was a model American.

     Manziel is the opposite. I’m not saying he isn’t religious or anything like that, but he definitely does not wear it on his sleeve. He is known for publically drinking underage, going to parties at his rival school, and being involved in an investigation by the NCAA to see if he was making money off of his name (which resulted in a half game suspension).

     Both were big time performers in college, earning Heisman trophies.

     The biggest difference comes in where the criticism is directed: Tebow’s knock against him was that he didn’t have the proper technique or the accuracy in his arm to get the job done in the NFL, and that proved to be true. Manziel’s concerns are not related to football. His concerns are things such as will he have a drinking problem, or a problem with ladies. If your argument to keep Manziel out of the first round is that he is too small, recent history begs to differ. Drew Brees has been a top notch elite quarterback in this league over his entire career and he measures exactly at six feet tall. Manziel is a quarter of an inch shorter than Drew Brees, and taller than Russell Wilson, who is just coming off of a Super Bowl victory.

     Some things off the field do have the potential to escalate, like Aaron Hernandez. But that is a different story, because he was involved in illegal activity. Going to a party at another school is not illegal, it is just blown out of proportion because of the huge spotlight on Manziel.

     Some people say that Manziel’s off the field activities mean he doesn’t care about the game or it would lead to a lack of preparation. Never has a single person connected with Texas A&M complained about his work ethic or will to win. Nick Saban, one of the most revered coaches in all of college football, came out and said he had never seen such a competitive individual. Manziel carried an atrocious Aggies defense to two consistently great seasons, the first in which he beat Saban’s Alabama team and the second in which he had an epic comeback against Duke for a Bowl win.

     This kind of success does not come from just physical aability. This is after hours and hours of study in the film room and relentless work behind the scenes.

That is stuff analysts seem to forget.