On Saturday, December 8th, Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel became the first freshman in history to win the Heisman trophy. In the Aggie’s first season in the SEC, the redshirt Manziel led them to a 10-2 record, and a final ranking of 9th in the BCS, although they probably deserved to be ranked higher. After leading A&M to key wins over ranked teams such as #23 Louisiana Tech and #1 Alabama, Manziel solidified his spot as a Heisman trophy finalist along with linebacker Manti Te’o of Notre Dame, and Collin Klein of Kansas State. Manziel’s 474 first place votes and 2,029 total points were enough to beat Te’o, who finished in second with 321 first place votes and 1,706 points and Klein, who finished in a distant third with 60 first place votes and 894 total points.
Manziel, who turned 20 on December 6th, and is the second youngest winner ever, finished the season with an impressive 24 touchdown passes while rushing for another 19. Manziel also completed 273 of 400 pass attempts while throwing for a total of 3419 yards and receiving an average passer rating of 155.9. After breaking previous Heisman trophy winners Tim Tebow and Cam Newton’s SEC total yards record, it is only fitting that Manziel wins the award for himself.
The humbled Manziel accepted his award at the Best Buy Theater in Times Square and delivered a quick speech thanking his parents, coaches and teammates (specifically his offensive line) for helping him through his football career. Manziel, who is originally from Kerrville, Texas, said, “I’ve been dreaming of this since I was a kid, running around in the backyard pretending I was Doug Flutie throwing Hail Mary’s to my Dad.”
Manziel, or Johnny Football to some, has one more chance to prove why he is the 2012 Heisman trophy winner on January 4th, in the AT&T Cotton Bowl against #11 Oklahoma.
Below is a video of all 43 of Manziel’s regular season touchdowns.