Johnny Manziel, Mike Evans recall the celebration from beating Alabama in 2012

In the 2012 college football season, Johnny Manziel introduced himself to the world with standout performance after standout performance. However, Manziel’s true breakout game occurred when Texas A&M defeated No. 1 Alabama in Week 11 of the season.

Of course, Manziel wasn’t the only player making a name for himself during the successful campaign. Wide receiver Mike Evans, who was in the same high school class as Manziel, was also having an excellent season as Johnny Football’s go-to target.

Evidently, neither player has forgotten the good times they enjoyed in College Station. On Manziel’s podcast, Glory Daze, the former Texas A&M QB and Mike Evans reflected on the celebration that ensued after the Aggies’ upset win over Alabama.

“After winning that huge game, you remember flying back into the city and seeing the whole stadium lit up and what felt like half of College Station come back and greet us on the way back home?” Manziel said. “That was sick… How are you not gonna go out and celebrate on a night like that?”

Manziel isn’t the only one with fond memories of that night. Evans couldn’t help but smile as the former Heisman winner recounted the celebration.

“That was insane. They kept Northgate open longer. They broke the law,” Evans said. “There’s pictures floating around of us. If we were in our warm-ups, that was the Alabama game. Oh yeah, I couldn’t wait to get back.”

In the win, Evans tallied five catches for 40 yards. However, Manziel stole the show, completing 24-of-his-31 pass attempts for 253 yards and two touchdowns, without throwing an interception.

Manziel was also spectacular in the ground game, recording 92 rushing yards on 18 carries. The performance propelled Manziel into the foreground of the Heisman Trophy picture. While Manziel and Evans can laugh looking back on their postgame celebrations now, the fun didn’t come without some risks at the time.

“There’s one thing about College Station that you see a lot,” Manziel said. “There’s a there’s a bunch of drunk, country kids out here that have that mentality and that mindset. They don’t back down to, really, anybody.

“It doesn’t matter if he’s 6-foot-5 and plays on the football team or whatever it is. So you can always run into somebody stumbling around on Northgate that’ll try you on any given day.”

They’re especially apt to try you when you’re the most talked-about player in the country. Thankfully, Manziel had guys like Evans there to protect him from any aggressors.

“It was our honor to go out and protect you,” Evans said. “You were the first superstar we’d ever been around, and you’re our best player. People loved you. But then, there were some people that hated on you. And to see the people that hated you, they pissed me off.”