"He Ain't No Champion. Champion of What? Champion of Fireball", Kirby Smart on Johnny Manziel at Nike Coach of The Year Clinic
I'm sorry Kirby, did the 2012 Cotton Bowl vs Oklahoma just never happen? Did Johnny "Football" Manziel not come back from 21 points down the second half to beat the Duke Blue Devils in the 2013 Chic-Fil-A Peach Bowl? How about doing your research before you go throwing out such baseless accusations.
We don't take kindly to people who belittle the accomplishments of Heisman Trophy winner/ex-Barstool Sports star podcaster Johnny Manziel around these parts. Not on my watch, Kirby. Did Johnny make some mistakes in his life? Sure. Is he the perfect role model to young athletes? No. Is it kinda depressing every time he pops up on my Twitter feed talking on a podcast about his glory days at Texas A&M?. Very much so. But at least he never assaulted a man on the football field.
Johnny Football only did that off the field. To his girlfriend. And that was only allegedly. Kirby Smart is out here throwing stones at Johnny Football for having a few drinks every hour or so while in college, like Kirby Smart doesn't have plenty of problems within his own house. Sure Johnny had his issues, but at least when he was binge drinking, combing cocaine and Xanax, and signing illegal autographs for guys in cowboy hats, he wasn't doing so while behind the wheel of car. He wasn't doubling the speed limit and putting other people's lives in danger like the entirety of Georgia football's receiving core. Not one time did Johnny Football get pulled over for drunkenly fighting his girlfriend while driving. Not while he was at Texas A&M.
Jokes aside, if you gave Kirby Smart truth serum, and you picked any one of his current 5-star recruits and told him, "This player will get into the same amount of trouble Johnny Manziel did in college and nothing more", I bet he signs up for that in a heartbeat. He'd be so lucky to have a Johnny Football on your team. Georgia would probably have 2 more national championships, and definitely two more Fireball Championships had they landed Johnny as a recruit. Yes, Johnny Manziel has a rap sheet that if were attributed to anyone else, we probably wouldn't look back on their career so fondly. But we celebrate Johnny's poor choices around these parts. We think the poor choices that torpedoed his NFL career are actually really awesome. Unlike you and your stupid visor and NASCAR driver aspiring football team. Watch your Ted Cruz looking Kirby. That's Johnny Fucking Football you're talking about.