Johnny Manziel explains difference from Reggie Bush amid Heisman Trophy outcry, calls for reinstatement
Plenty of college football fans across the country have begged for the NCAA for years to give Reggie Bush his Heisman Trophy back. It’s been something that plenty of his former teammates have pleaded for, including his old quarterback at USC, Matt Leinart. The NCAA hasn’t budged an inch.
On Friday evening, former Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel joined plenty of others in calling for Bush’s Heisman Trophy to be reinstated.
“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 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,” Manziel tweeted on Friday evening.
In his Heisman Trophy-winning season in 2005, Bush knifed his way through opposing defenses to the tune of a staggering 2,611 all-purpose yards, while scoring 18 total touchdowns. And while the USC Trojans lost 41-38 in a classic 2006 Rose Bowl to Vince Young and the Texas Longhorns, that Trojans’ team is also considered one of the greatest college football teams of all-time. The 2006 Rose Bowl is also considered one of the greatest college football games ever played.
Johnny Manziel was one of the most dominant players in college football history during his time at Texas A&M
Manziel threw for 7,820 yards, 63 touchdowns, and just 22 interceptions while completing 68.9% of his throws during his time at Texas A&M. Another season in college and everything could have been different, both on and off the field.
In 2012, he brought home the Heisman Trophy after he became the first freshman and only the fifth player in college football history to pass for 3,000 and rush for 1,000 yards in the same season. He racked up 4,600 total yards, surpassing the likes of Cam Newton and Tim Tebow, both former Heisman Trophy winners. Manziel also won numerous other awards, including the SEC Freshman of the Year.
Texas A&M finished with 11 wins in 2012, tied for the second most in program history. Taking down Alabama in Tuscaloosa was an iconic moment in college football during the Aggies’ first-ever season in the SEC.
Had it not been for two losses by a combined eight points against Florida and LSU, Manziel would have led Texas A&M to Atlanta with a BCS National Championship spot on the line.
On3’s Griffin McVeigh also contributed to this article.