"'Entourage' on HBO and 'Blue Mountain State'": 2012 Heisman winner Johnny Manziel recalls his version of a party life while playing for Texas A&M
Johnny Manziel scripted one of college football's greatest quarterback stories during his time at Texas A&M.
Manziel had the skills to make it in the NFL, but his off-field life overshadowed his career, and he could never live up to what he was able to do in college.
Manziel gave an in-depth interview to host Shannon Sharpe on his "Club Shay Shay" podcast on Feb. 21, where he spoke about various topics, including the things he got up to off the field.
"At that point, I wasn’t thinking about football … I’m trying to go have a good time in college," Johnny Manziel said. "I wanted to be this mix of 'Entourage' on HBO and 'Blue Mountain State' and all these things I was watching at the time. I was ingrained in, ‘I’m a party boy.’"
While at college, Manziel was a known “party boy.” He attended parties at Texas A&M and TCU, whose campus is some 170 miles north of College Station. "Johnny Football" was even kicked out of a party at Texas A&M's rivals, the University of Texas.
Johnny Manziel wanted his life to be a mixture of the hit HBO show "Entourage" (a show about a young actor and his entourage of childhood friends) and "Blue Mountain State" (a show about a fictional college that heavily focuses on both college football and the party lifestyle).
It is safe to say that the latter show was a far more accurate depiction of Manziel's off-field life. But while he was a merrymaker off the field, Manziel could dominate his opponents on the field.
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Johnny Manziel: Wasted Potential?
Manziel only played as the starting quarterback for the Aggies for two seasons, but he was strong in both years.
During his freshman year, Manziel threw for a then-SEC record of 3702 yards, as he was awarded the Heisman Trophy and became the first freshman in history to win the award.
His sophomore year in 2013 was even better, throwing for a new SEC record of 4114 yards and 13 touchdowns. Manziel set the Texas A&M record for passing yards in a game with 464 yards against the No. 1 ranked Alabama. It looked like he would be set for a top pick in the NFL draft.
However, Manziel struggled to manage his reputation in the build-up to the draft, and he paid for this by falling down the board to be the 22nd pick of the first round by the Cleveland Browns.
Johnny Manziel struggled in the NFL, partly because he kept the party lifestyle he became known for in college.