In the weeks since winning the Heisman Trophy, Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel‘s fame and publicity has risen to an almost Rob Gronkowski-esque level. And that’s making the higher-ups in College Station a little nervous.
A&M athletic director Eric Hyman sat down with Manziel’s parents this past weekend to discuss the redshirt freshman’s public image after a string of appearances on the online gossip website TMZ.com, Brent Zwerneman of the San Antonio Express-News reports.
“I told them he’s no longer a freshman, and he’s no longer a sophomore, junior or senior,” Hyman said. “He is a ‘Heisman.'”
Manziel, who capped his Heisman campaign by accounting for 516 total yards and four touchdowns in a 41-13 rout of Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl, first made off-field headlines on Dec. 20 when he was called out by TNT analyst Steve Kerr for sitting courtside at a Mavericks-Heat game in Dallas. That attention turned to national scrutiny when a photo of Manziel holding a fistful of cash at an Oklahoma casino went viral, as did photos of the quarterback partying at a Dallas nightclub after the Cotton Bowl win.
The 20-year-old Manziel took to Twitter to point out that he broke neither any laws nor any NCAA rules, as 18 is the minimum age for gambling in Oklahoma and the NCAA only prohibits betting on sports. The Kerrville, Texas, native also took a chance to poke fun at the situation, posing with Monopoly money during a visit to a Connecticut hospital.
[tweet https://twitter.com/JManziel2/status/289824342332805120 align=’center’]
Manziel finished the season with 3,706 passing yards and 22 touchdowns for the Aggies, becoming the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy in the award’s 77-year history.
Photo via Twitter/@JManziel2
