The Problem With Johnny Manziel

Johnny Manziel didn't learn anything this offseason which is putting himself, his family and his school in a negative light. | Photo: Eric Gay/Associated Press 

Texas A&M quarterback, Johnny Manziel, is often referred to as "Johnny Football" by fans and the media. But he is far from representing the game of football in a positive light.

In the wake of his scandal where he was paid to sign autographs, the NCAA slapped him with a half-game suspension - that's a story in itself - giving him a chance to do a little damage control in the second half of his team's game against Rice.

That didn't happen.

Manziel, obviously not learning a thing from this offseason, made gestures to Rice players referring to his autograph debacle. NCAA Football instituted rules regarding taunting but those gestures - although boneheaded and very annoying - didn't qualify for a penalty. 

Later on he decided to take it a step further and flat out taunt Rice players, resulting in a penalty and giving Sumlin no choice but to pull him from the game.

Gene Wojciechowski of ESPN.com wrote about this situation and noted some responses from well-respected coaches in NCAA Football whose names were not mentioned.

One in particular said that he would "kick [Manziel's] ass if he were Sumlin." Even former NFL star, Brian Urlacher, weighed in saying Manziel "acted like a punk" during the game.

Johnny Manziel doesn't care about the integrity of the game, his coaches, teammates or the fans. He's spiraling out of control. I mean, he blew off Coach Sumlin when he took him out of the game on Saturday like an annoying parent that wouldn't get out of his ear.

Wojciechowski wrote that his colleague, Mark Schlabach, said weeks ago that he found it interesting how Manziel's teammates didn't vote him into a leadership position on the team. Teams typically vote their quarterback into a leadership role, especially if the quarterback is the reigning Heisman winner. 

But that didn't happen at Texas A&M. And at a time when Sumlin needs leadership for this young team, he definitely won't find any in Manziel.