If you haven’t heard by now, Comeback SZN for Johnny Manziel is officially underway.
Manziel was taking reps at Texas A&M’s pro day on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Tuesday, Manziel confirmed that if he doesn’t land a gig in the NFL, he’s going to try his hand at the CFL.
On Wednesday, the former Cleveland Browns quarterback, who hasn't taking a professional snap in over two years, opined about possibly coming up to Canada to play with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in an exclusive interview with TSN’s Dave Naylor.
Naylor was able to clarify all the hearsay and his quotes from the Tuesday media scrums in a one-on-one interview with Johnny Football. The interview kicks off with the CFL insider asking Manziel on his overall perceptions of the league, and what he’s heard through from his peers, as well as what he’s picked up observing from a distant.
“I have a lot of respect for that league, Manziel told Naylor.
“I’ve talked to all my boys that have been up there. It’s no slouch league, it’s no joke; it’s not the NFL, obviously. I think anyone around Canada and anybody around the NFL would agree with that, but at the same time, it’s no slouch gimmick league either. It’s a high even level where I can go in, and if I do decide to do that, and compete in it, I’m going to have fun doing it.”
“I did watch a lot of games last year, or as many as I could being in the States."
The 25-year-old knows a number of players currently playing in the league, and is aware that it’s a great opportunity to get on NFL team’s radars again if he’s unable to land a contract with one of the 32 clubs.
“I do read a little bit here and there to see where certain guys have gone. I do have friends that play up there: Brandon Zylstra, Bryant Mitchell, Durrell Walker and Dakota Prukop and a couple other guys that I know have gone up there. Jeff Fuller is another guy that played with me at A&M that’s in Toronto. I watched him, I watched the Grey Cup.”
Since the Tiger-Cats own Manziel’s CFL rights, him and his agent Erik Burkhardt have been in constant contact with the Tiger-Cats organization about joining the team. Manziel expressed his gratitude towards the organization, and is not only humbled by their interests, but spoke highly on the CFL as a whole.
“I think it was great to get up there to meet commissioner Ambroise and be around coach Jones (Hamitlon Tiger-Cats head coach), be around Kent (Kent Austin, Ti-Cats GM), be around the people that are in Hamilton. They’ve been great. I know a lot was made with the deadline and things like that, but everything I think is going to work itself out for the better in due time and we’ll see.”
The 2014 Heisman winner knows that he has a lot of doubters and naysayers hoping he fails at his second chance, and is well aware that he’s going to need to work harder than everyone else considering he’s on strike two in terms of hiccups.
“I’ve been humbled in the process as far as what’s happened to me the last two years. I went from a nobody from two hours down the road to the Heisman Trophy stage, to the very bottom as low as I possible get in my life. If I do go and decide to play in the CFL, I’m not expecting or wanting anyone to hand me a job. I realize there’s going to be growing pains, there’s going to be learning pains, and there’s going to be work, sweat, and a lot of hard work to get to where I want to be.”
“It’s going to be fun to see how everything plays out. I’m interested in myself by it because I’m sitting here today just as curious as all of you, and have just as many question marks as all of you do.”
As for an exact timeline of when he’ll have a decision, Manziel is still unsure of one, but feels he’s in the right headspace to make the best decision for himself going forward.
“I’m happy, I feel like I’m doing really well; I’m learning things as I go, but I feel like I have a good regiment and I have a good foundation for moving forward.”
“I realize what situation I’ve put myself in, how hard it’s going to be for me to get back to somewhere, and just because I have the opportunity to play in Canada doesn’t mean it should be handed to me and I don’t want it to be that way. I want it to work and earn everything I have coming my way.”
You can watch the full interview below:
