Tag Archives: Heisman Trophy

OHIO STATE/SUGAR BOWL NOTES AND NUMBERS

Posted: Jan 2, 2015 by . Filed under Blog Posts, Feature Articles | 20 Comments

With their 42-35 win over Alabama, Ohio State now has the longest winning streak in the country, having won 12 games in a row this season and are (13-1) overall.

The Buckeyes have now officially beaten an SEC team in a Bowl game with the 42-35 win over Alabama.

Urban Meyer is now (2-2) in head-to-head match ups with Nick Saban, (8-2) lifetime in bowl games and is (37-3) in his first three years at Ohio State.

Urban Meyer Sugar Bowl

The 230 yards rushing by Ezekeil Elliott is a new Sugar Bowl record and it was the first time this season that the Crimson Tide gave up 100 yards rushing to a player. Elliott was named the game’s Offensive MVP.

In his last 3 games Elliott has rushed for 571 yards on 57 carries, averaging 10 yards per carry and scored 6 touchdowns.

Ezekeil Elliott and Cardale Jones Sugar Bowl

Third string QB Cardale Jones has started two games now in his career at Ohio State and has posted wins over Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship game and over #1 ranked Alabama in the College Football Playoff Semi-Final.

Devin Smith caught his 30th career touchdown pass, a 47 yarder from Jones in the 3rd quarter.

As a team Ohio State rushed for 281 total yards against the nation’s #1 ranked rushing defense, as Alabama was giving up just 88 yards per game rushing this season. The Buckeyes totaled 537 yards in the win.

OSU Linebacker Darron Lee took home Defensive MVP honors with 7 tackles, 2 sacks and 3 tackles for loss.

Darron Lee MVP Sugar Bowl

The Bucks picked off Bama quarterback Blake Simms 3 times, 1 each for Steve Miller, Vonn Bell and Tyvis Powell.

Ohio State has now defeated 4 ranked teams this year: #1 Alabama, #8 Michigan State, #13 Wisconsin and #25 Minnesota. They will now play #2 Oregon for the National Championship on January 12th in Arlington, Texas at “Jerry’s World”.

In their last 4 games, the most important games of the season, the Buckeyes have scored 42, 42, 59 and 42 points. The Oregon Ducks in their last 4 games have scored 44, 47, 51 and 59 points.

The guys in the desert have installed Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota and Oregon as an early 7 point favorite in the National Championship Game.

FYI- The Buckeyes are (5-0) under Urban Meyer when they enter a game as “The Underdog”.

 

 

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE FROM THE BROWNS ON SIGNING JOHNNY MANZIEL

Posted: Jun 17, 2014 by . Filed under Blog Posts, Feature Articles | 18 Comments

Browns agree to terms with Johnny Manziel 

 BEREA, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns on Tuesday agreed to terms with QB Johnny Manziel. General Manager Ray Farmer made the announcement.

The Browns now have come to terms with four of their six 2014 draft selections.

The 6-0, 210-pound Manziel was selected with the 22nd overall pick, the second of the Browns’ two first-round selections.

He compiled a 20-6 record as a two-year starter at Texas A&M before foregoing his final two years of eligibility.

He completed 595 of 863 passes for 7,820 yards with 63 touchdowns and 22 interceptions. Manziel added 2,160 rushing yards and 30 scores. He amassed 9,989 yards of total offense, an average of 384.9 per game.

He became the first freshman to win the Heisman trophy and was a finalist the following year. Manziel also became the first player in school history to throw for 3,000 yards in back-to-back seasons (3,706 in 2012 and 4,114 in 2013).

Manziel, who hails from Kerrville, Texas, graduated from Kerrville High School.

—————————————————————————————–

Here are the reported financial figures for Manziel’s contract according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network and NFL.com –

 · 

Johnny Manziel’s 4-year contract is worth approximately $8.3M with a roughly $4.3M signing bonus. Whopping 94% guaranteed (65% in year 4)

Johnny Manziel Money Sign On Stage at NFL Draft

MANZIEL VS TEBOW – FAIR OR UNFAIR?

Posted: May 12, 2014 by . Filed under Blog Posts, Feature Articles | 19 Comments

With “Manziel Mania” running rampant in Cleveland like “‘Johnny Football” across SEC fields over the last two years I started thinking about Manziel’s career in college and it led me to think about another heralded SEC quarterback named Tim Tebow.

Manziel vs Tebow Photo

Like Manziel, Tebow ran and threw the ball and brought excitement to the college football world both on and off the field.  Like Manziel, people questioned whether Tebow’s style of play could make it in the NFL. Was he a good enough passer? Could he play under center and read defenses? Could he understand to be successful in the league he would have to run less and throw more? Then I started wondering why will “Manziel Mania” be any different than “Tebow Mania”? What gives “TMZ Johnny” a better chance to make it over “Genuflecting Tim”? Will he last longer in the NFL than the three years that Tebow played? If so, why? Are these comparisons fair?

So I decided to go back and look at the first two years that both Tebow and Manziel started at quarterback at their respective colleges in the SEC. There are a lot of similar results that link these two together, and I think fairly raises the question, why will Manziel, drafted 22nd in the first round by the Browns in 2014  make it in the NFL, when Tebow, who was drafted 25th in the first round by the Broncos in 2010,  only lasted 3 years?

 

(Remember these are stats and facts from the first two years as a starting quarterback only)

TIM TEBOW                                                                          JOHNNY MANZIEL

6’3 – 236 pounds                                                                         5’11 – 205 pounds

Played in the SEC at Florida                                                   Played in the Sec at Texas A&M

Gesture – “Tebowing”                                                               Gesture – “Getting Paid”

1st sophomore to win the Heisman                                        1st freshman to win the Heisman

Won 1 National Title                                                                    Did not win a National Title

Won 1 SEC Title                                                                            Did not win an SEC Title

2-Time first team All-American                                                1-Time first team All-American

2-Time first team All-SEC                                                         2-Time first team All-SEC

1st year as a starter 32TD passes                                          1st year as a starter 26TD passes

1st year as a starter 23 rush TD’s                                         1st year as a starter 21 rush TD’s

Total TD’s in first year (53)                                                       Total TD’s in first year (47)

1st year as a starter 3,286yrds passing                       1st year as a starter 3,706yrds passing

1st year as a starter 895yrds  rushing                        1st year as a starter 1,410yrds rushing

1st year total yards 4,181 yards                                            1st year total yards 5,116 yards

First 2 years as a starter 62 TD passes                        First 2 years as a starter 63 TD passes

First 2 years as a starter 35 rushing TD’s              First 2 years as a starter 30 rushing TD’s

Total TD’s in first 2 years (97)                                              Total TD’s in first two years (93)

Total INT’s thrown first 2 years (10)                         Total INT’s thrown in first 2 years (22)

66% completion percentage first 2 years                  69% completion percentage first 2 years

Total passing yards first 2 years (6,033)             Total passing yards in first 2 years (7,820)

Total rush yards first 2 years (1,568)              Total rush yards in first 2 years (2,169 yards)

Total yards in first 2 years (7,601)                                Total yards in first 2 years (9,989)

 

Both played with heart, desire and passion at the college level. Both were great leaders on the field. But after looking at the numbers and information provided above, is there anything that really stands out as to why Johnny Manziel has a chance to be a better quarterback in the NFL than Tim Tim Tebow? I’m not saying Manziel will. I’m not saying he won’t. I’m just presenting you with comparable information and stats for the two players and would love to hear your reasons why you believe one way or another. Let me know here at www.KennyRoda.com or on Twitter @TheKennyRoda.