Everyone knows Johnny Manziel can play ball and win games. He is an outstanding talent and a natural play maker. His hype is as big as the game itself. After winning the Heisman trophy as a freshman throwing for 3706 yards and rushing for 1410 yards in 2012 the hype surrounding Johnny football has reached celebrity status. But the question remains, can Johnny Football continue to be a dominating force?

Johnny Manziel had a wild offseason stretching from front row seats at the Miami heat playoff series to throwing the first pitch at a major league baseball game and ending in a NCAA investigation about profiting from autographs. Some may say this behavior is typical, because what is the point of winning the Heisman trophy if you can’t bask in the glorious perks that it carries with it! It may be that he is just having fun. But is it starting to change people’s opinion of the freshman phenom?

Recently Johnny has been under heavy scrutiny for allegedly accepting payment for autographs. This is a direct violation of the NCAA’s rules on amateur student athletes. Johnny was suspended for the first half of their season opener this season against Rice. When he did get in the game he threw for 94 yards and three touchdowns. With the scrutiny and the hate that Johnny has been receiving in the offseason one would think this would be enough to change the opinions of his haters but Johnny only created more with his poor sportsmanship and show boating. Maybe he was only talking back to the Rice players for scrutinizing him for his autograph scandals. Shouldn’t a Heisman trophy winner hold himself to higher standards?

I had a chat with Ben Klenk an Elder senior offensive lineman and asked him a few questions about Johnny. I asked Ben about his overall opinion of Johnny. Klenk said, “I like Johnny Football, he is a great player.”

Klenk continued about the scandals that surround this young talent. “He is a good football player; I just don’t think he was ready for the spotlight yet,” said Klenk. “His trash talking was out of line.”

This behavior from the young 20 year old sophomore quarterback is changing the view among his fans. Some may like what he is doing, maybe they believe he is being himself  not conforming to the Heisman tradition we expect like Tim Tebow, Others may say that he is ruining his career and reputation with his “I’m just a 20 year old kid” excuse to his infamous party life style. No matter your personal opinion there is no denying his skills on the field.