Heisman Trophy winner and A&M standout Johnny Manziel checked into a treatment facility early Wednesday morning.
“Johnny knows there are areas in which he needs to improve in order to be a better family member, friend and teammate, and he thought the offseason was the right time to take this step,” adviser Brad Beckworth said in his statement.
Beckworth did not specify the type of treatment sought by Manziel or how long he would remain at the facility. The news comes on the heels of a rookie season in which Manziel saw action in only three games — throwing for 175 yards with zero passing touchdowns and two interceptions — and was fined by the team for missing treatment on his injured hamstring prior to the Dec. 28 season finale.
Cleveland Browns general manager Ray Farmer came out in support of Manziel, the Browns quarterback and former A&M standout.
“We respect Johnny’s initiative in this decision and will fully support him throughout this process,” Farmer said. “Our players’ health and well-being will always be of the utmost importance to the Cleveland Browns. We continually strive to create a supportive environment and provide the appropriate resources, with our foremost focus being on the individual and not just the football player.”
Manziel came into the NFL as a polarizing figure, stemming from his playing days at Texas A&M. After he became the first freshman in NCAA history to win the Heisman trophy, Manziel became instant news, with media outlets from across the country covering him at his every move. Some argued that Manziel became just as polarizing and as talked about as another former Heisman trophy winner, Tim Tebow.
When Manziel entered his final season as an Aggie in 2013, the Aggies received buzz as national title contenders and Manziel was a candidate to win back-to-back Heisman trophies. The Aggies finished 9-4 with a dramatic victory in the Chick-Fil-A bowl over Duke and Manziel again returned to New York as a Heisman finalist, though Florida State’s Jameis Winston took home the award.
As his NFL pro day came and went, the draft buzz was all about where Manziel was going to go in the draft. Manziel was taken No. 22 by the Cleveland Browns, flashing his signature “money” sign as he walked across the stage to shake the commissioner’s hands.
The A&M athletics department expressed support in a statement Monday.
“Johnny will always be an Aggie, and we wish him well in another step in his journey,” the statement read.
As the season ended, Manziel said he should have worked harder in his first year.
“I’m not the Johnny Manziel that came in here a year ago,” Manziel said. “It’s been a year of growing up for me. This is a job for me now. I have to take this a lot more seriously than maybe I did at first still going home and doing whatever I was doing in the offseason.”
Manziel fans like junior ocean engineering major Chase Lucia wonder if he can find the NFL success most Aggies expected of him.
“I think [Manziel] is messing up too royally,” Lucia said. “I mean, the Browns came to his house because he missed his treatment appointment for his hamstring. He just needs to use the rehab so that people will see that he’s progressing. If he messes up after this, he’s done.”
Junior international studies major Kevin Bittner believes that Manziel has all the skills, but needs the fortitude necessary to succeed at the NFL level.
“I think that Johnny has everything it takes to be the Browns starting quarterback except for the mental discipline,” Bittner said. “I think rehab is a great step toward Johnny becoming a respected NFL quarterback.”