INDIANAPOLIS — Johnny Football might not be tall, but he’s not short on confidence.
Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel measured in at 5-foot-11 ¾ Friday morning at the NFL Scouting Combine, shorter than expected and definitely shorter than most teams like their quarterbacks to be, but he told reporters later it won’t matter.
“I play with a lot of heart, play with a lot of passion,” Manziel said. “I feel like I play like I’m 10 feet tall. A measurement to me is just a number.”
Manziel arrived at the Combine set to answer teams’ questions about his character. He is expected be a top-five pick and possibly the No. 1 pick in May’s Draft. The 2012 Heisman Trophy winner said teams won’t have to worry about his partying reputation if they draft him.
“This is a job,” Manziel said. “There’s guys with families, coaches with families, with all kinds of things on the line. For me, it’s nothing new. It won’t be a hard thing to kick. I’m just going to focus on whatever organization I’ll be at, just pouring my heart out trying to be football 24-7 with that team.”
Manziel said his competitiveness will separate him from the other top quarterbacks.
“I’m probably one of the most competitive people on the face of this earth,” he said, “whether it’s sitting here playing tic-tac-toe or rock, paper, scissors or whatever it may be, I want to win. It’s something that, really dating back all the way to being a kid, I don’t like the taste of losing, leaves a really sour taste in my mouth.
“I’m an extremely competitive person. At the same time, I want to be a great leader as well.”
The quarterbacks are scheduled to take the field Sunday. Manziel will go through all of the drills, but will not throw for teams. He will wait until his March 27 pro day to throw, when he will be in familiar surroundings with wide receivers he’s used to throwing to.
“From what I’ve told every team, if they want to work me out privately, any throw they want to see me make at my pro day, any interview, any question they want to ask me, any throw they want to see me make at any time, I’m more than willing to do that,” he said. “I’ll be in a situation March 27 where I’ll have Mike Evans and a group of receivers that I’m very comfortable with, very familiar with, that I want to give those guys an opportunity to go and show what they can showcase as well.
“Extremely hard decision for me not to throw here. I’m an extremely competitive person. It’s something that my agent really kind of advised me on, but at the same time telling these teams, anything they want to see, anything they want to hear from me, more than willing.”
Manziel spent the past six weeks in San Diego working on his pocket skills with quarterbacks guru George Whitfield.
Teams are as interested in what Manziel he is doing on the field as off of it. Friday, he addressed rumors he had attended alcohol counseling.
“No sir, I don’t believe those are true,” Manziel said. “After last spring, Coach [Kevin] Sumlin kind of came to me and said, ‘Hey, we have an in-house guy we want you to sit down and meet with.’ I was more than happy and willing to learn whatever I could from him. I could sit down and have meetings with him, and those continued throughout the next couple years. Had a great relationship with him.”