Johnny Manziel has had an offseason filled with controversy and distractions as the Texas A&M star deals with the celebrity following that comes with winning the Heisman Trophy.
His dad is worried that it could get a lot worse.
“It could come unraveled. And when it does, it’s gonna be bad. Real bad,” Paul Manziel told ESPN.com in a lengthy feature that details Manziel’s relationship with his family and dealing with his sudden fame.
Manziel’s offseason featured tweeting about looking forward to leaving Texas A&M after a parking ticket, photos of him flashing money, sitting courtside at a Heat game and updates on an arrest from last year stemming from a bar fight.
“I don’t know where the anger comes from,” Paul told the website. “I don’t think he knows. If it comes from his drinking, or if he’s mad at himself for not being a better person when he fails, when he fails God and his mom and me. If it makes him angry that he’s got demons in him. You can only speculate because you can’t go in there.”
The family, and particularly Paul, is unhappy with the way Texas A&M is handling their son and is concerned Manziel’s temper and reliance on alcohol could eventually create a disastrous situation. He calls the school and NCAA ‘so selfish’ for the way they have probed his son.
“I don’t enjoy playing golf with him because I don’t want to see that temper,” Paul told the website, relating how frustrated his son can get on the course, where he’s never beaten his dad.
“I honestly do not. I cringe when he wants to play golf. I don’t want to do it, but I know I have to do it. Because he still needs love. He still needs guidance. He still needs to see he’s wrong — and how to control his temper. And if I give up on him, who’s gonna take over? The school sure the hell isn’t gonna do it.”
Manziel won the Heisman with a spectacular redshirt Freshman season, amassing 5,116 yards and 47 touchdowns on the ground and through the air. He is only expected to last one more year in College Station before plying his trade in the NFL, but Paul fears the worst between now and then.
“It’s one night away from the phone ringing,” he says, “and he’s in jail. And you know what he’s gonna say? ‘It’s better than all the pressure I’ve been under. This is better than that.'”
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Other interesting tidbits from the story:
— Tiger Woods once promised Manziel that he’d meet him at the Islesworth clubhouse for an autograph and then didn’t show.
— His parents wanted to get license plates that read: JFFDAD and JFFMOM. The JFF stands for Johnny F—–g Football, but were talked out of it.