The 2012 Heisman Trophy came down to two unlikely finalists — a freshman and a defensive player. The freshman won out.
Johnny Manziel became the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy on Saturday, beating Manti Te’o and Collin Klein for the most outstanding player in college football. The Texas A&M quarterback finished with 2,029 points, and Notre Dame’s Te’o had 1,706. Kansas State’s Klein finished third with 894, USC’s Marqise Lee had 207 and Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller finished with 149.
Manziel finished the season with 3,419 passing yards, 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He ran for 1,181 yards and 19 touchdowns. The Aggies finished the season ranked No. 9 with a 10-2 record. They’ll face off against Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl.
Manziel had a fantastic season all around but gained notoriety for defeating No. 1 Alabama 29-24 on Nov. 10. In that game, Manziel had 253 yards passing and two touchdowns with 92 rushing yards.
