Johnny Manziel doesn’t have many believers these days, but his old high school coach, Mark Smith, still sees some good in his former quarterback.
In an interview with Sharon Ko of KENS 5, Smith said that he’s unfamiliar with the guy that Manziel has become since coming to the NFL.
“I really don’t know that guy. I think they’re two different people…Somehow I wish Johnny could find himself back to being Johnny Manziel…I think everybody saw what kind of player he was. He’s a great player…The things I know about Johnny, I mean, he was a great kid. He had a caring heart, always tried to put his teammates before himself. Was great with kids, particularly special needs kids. He went out of his way to work with the younger youth in the Kerrville area.”
There’s no reason to doubt what Smith said. The Manziel that he knew is likely 180 degrees different from the Manziel that can’t seem to keep himself out of trouble and away from the news. For what it’s worth, Von Miller has made similar comments (read more about that here).
The problem is that while Smith may not know the TMZ version of Manziel, that’s the only version that the rest of us know. It’s also something Manziel has himself touted as the “real” Johnny Manziel.
Smith is one of the only people still familiar with Dr. Jekyll. Unfortunately, the majority of the rest of us are all too familiar with Mr. Hyde.
If Manziel is going to have any chance at an NFL career, and really, if he’s going to have much of a chance in life, that’s something that’s going to have to change in a big way. For his sake, we can all hope that he takes the words of his old high school coach to heart.