Are you sick of Johnny Manziel yet?
We sure hope not, because CBS will be devoting an entire camera during its college football coverage on Saturday to follow the reigning Heisman Trophy winner around during Texas A&M’s matchup against Alabama, SI.com reports.
The camera will be called the “Johnny Cam.”
“No matter where he is and no matter what part of the game it is, we will have a shot of it,” said Craig Silver, the coordinating producer of college football for CBS Sports. “If he is anywhere in sight of that camera, we will catch it.”
The game is one of the most anticipated of the college football season, with fans looking to see whether or not Manziel lives up to his hype and Alabama looking for a three-peat in the national championship department. Manziel’s off-field antics have been covered ad nauseam this past the offseason, but Silver said viewers shouldn’t expect to hear all Manziel all the time on Saturday.
“By the time we get to kickoff, this thing will have been talked about ad nauseam throughout the sports world,” Silver said. “We are not judge and jury. It is not our place, especially within the body of the broadcast, to state whether he should or should not be playing, should have been suspended or should not have been suspended. The way I approach it is how has all this stuff affected him as a football player and affected his team.”
CBS requested an on-camera interview with the quarterback, as well as his presence for meetings with the CBS production staff this Friday. Texas A&M will make decisions based on those requests this week.
ESPN’s College GameDay will also be on hand in College Station, Tex., to broadcast its college football show. Executives echoed Silver’s sentiments about the oversaturation of Manziel-related news.
“I can promise you the show won’t turn into ‘Manziel Mania’ for three hours,” ESPN coordinating producer Lee Fitting said. “Will the viewer get their fill of Manziel? Sure. Will we cover every angle of the game? Yes. But will we go overboard? Absolutely not.”
Sure, ESPN. We believe you.
