Johnny Manziel and Jadeveon Clowney: The NFL Draft's Biggest Question Marks

Well, its been a couple days since I last wrote a story, and it has been nothing but busy in the sports media world. One of the ingest topics being discussed is this year's NFL Draft and just who is going where. Two of the drafts most discussed players has been Texas A&M's quarterback Johnny Manziel aka Johnny Football and South Carolina's defensive end Jadeveon Clowney. For two years, the "hometown hero" Johnny Manziel excited everyone with his ability to use his quickness and agility to escape pressure that came to him in the pocket and makes plays both through the air with his air and on the ground with his legs. He played so well for the Aggies that he became the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy. As for Jadeveon Clowney, his three year career at South Carolina was filled with points where we were very impressed, and also very disappointed with his play. He was an astonishing football player and athlete to the entire nation before he even reached college. his size (6"6' 240 lbs.), devastating speed, immense strength, great vision, and just overall athletic skill made him the No. 1 overall recruit in the country in 2011. Many coaches said Clowney was one of high school football's best players in history, while NFL owners and general managers said that if they could and it was possible, they would draft Clowney out of high school as the No. 1 overall pick. Clowney then went to South Carolina where he solidified what everyone had been talking about. Yes, these two guys are truly something special in the game of football and have earned all the success they've had up to this point. However, both Manziel and Clowney have had issues and are flawed both on and off the field. Some of these issues could even be detrimental to their draft status. And yes, I happen to be one of them.

So for quarterback Johnny Manziel, I felt that one of the big issues with him was that his attitude off the field and the trouble he was in is a bad sign of things to come. Yes, I will get to his on-field play, which should be what counts, but it is an unavoidable issue that must be discussed in order to know the type of player a person is dealing with on the team. During his time in college, Manziel was arrested for disorderly conduct and possession of a fake driver's license in 2012, tweeting that he "can't wait to leave college station", getting kicked out of a fraternity party at rival school Texas, was thrown out of the Manning throwing Academy, and the biggest issue was his possible involvement in a scandal in which Johnny was reported to have signed merchandise in a hotel room and was paid $7500 for it. Now, the NCAA's investigation on the issue came up empty when no proof of payment could be found, but after such a scandal, he only got half a game suspension against Rice University (not a big name team). Yes, the tweet was probably taken out of context. The fact that he was kicked out of a party in Texas isn't an "oh my god!" moment. The Manning Academy is an iffy area, but everyone has overslept for something before I suppose. The arrest in 2012 is really what sticks as a problem. The overall issue: he has been under the microscope and is finding himself always in something it seems. The thing that really makes me crazy is that Johnny used the same old excuse over and over: "I'm just a kid". It is the lamest excuse ever used by someone ever, and yet it gets accepted as a valid excuse for him whereas if  I (the average Joe schmo) were to try that excuse, there is no way it would have passed at all. To me, I just see the off-field antics to be the thing that could ruin him if it carries over to his professional career.

Now that that's out of my system, onto his on-field play. Johnny Manziel was a great football player and athlete in college, but after watching his game, I see that he lacks some of the essential skills in order to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. The first problem is that Manziel's career has been defined by his ability to scramble and use his legs to make plays. This is a useful skill for him when pressure comes and he must escape the pocket. In Manziel's freshman year of college, he ran for over 1400 rushing yards and scored 21 touchdowns, which helped him become the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy. And seeming like this will be his style, when he enters the NFL games, I just think he will not survive. The NFL's defensive schemes are now more equipped than ever to be able to handle a QB who has the ability to take off and run. It was shown that in Johnny's sophomore year, teams were more ready for his running when he only had 759 yards with just 9 rushing touchdowns. That is quite a significant drop from over 1400 yards and 21 TDs the year before. On top of that, many of the NFL's defensive players are the best of the best (which is why they are in the NFL) which means that they will probably not be falling for all the jukes and cuts that Johnny tries to make from time to time. Another problem is his inconsistency to be able to make the right throws. His freshman year, he only had 9 interceptions all season long compared to the 26 touchdowns he scored through the air: pretty impressive. The next year he posted 13 interceptions compared to 37 touchdowns, and that's still pretty impressive. But in the game film and highlights that I've seen, he does tend to make bad decisions by trying to force the ball into areas of double coverage or even triple coverage when he should just simply through the ball away. Though the numbers were good in college, if he does not improve in making good decisions on the field, those incomplete passes will turn into INTs on the pro level. The problem that feeds some his inconsistent play is when he makes throws off is back foot, from stand still, or with his feet crossed, which then limits his ability to throw to his receiver while they are still in stride. It is just one of the things I've noticed that comes with being a mobile quarterback. In Johnny's case, it seems to be causing him to make these towering throws that cause his talented wide receivers, like 6"5' NFL prospect Mike Evans, to have to come back to the ball and allows the defensive backs a second chance at knocking the ball out of the air or intercepting it. These types of throws drops the possibility of the pass turning into a touchdown significantly, whereas if he were to throw more laser beam spirals, then he would probably have had 40+ passing touchdowns his sophomore year. But, those are just a few of the problems I see and I just hope that he will prove me wrong overall.

Now it's onto Jadeveon Clowney. Now just like Manziel, Clowney's off-field antics should not be the focus, but he did have one issue that is a huge problem with players of all levels in athletics. If you don't know, Jadeveon Clowney was ticketed twice in the month of December last year. Clowney was reportedly speeding 110 mph in a 70 mph on Dec. 7 and then again on Dec. 26 going 84 mph in a 55 mph. Now, if he really was going that fast twice in one month, then he may have an issue with speed (I do mean going fast). Everyone always hears about these players, from high school to pro level, that are either intoxicated or just have a lead foot, and eventually end up either getting pulled over with a ticket, getting arrested, and in some cases: death. Though he hasn't been arrested or had an accident (yet), it will only be a matter of time before we hear about Clowney getting arrested or worse if he does not slow it down.

Speaking of slowing it down, it's time to talk about Clowney's on-field play. So my first beef with Jadeveon Clowney's game that I have noticed is that when he uses that first explosive step and the elite speed he has, he sometimes overruns plays or has the ball carrier slip through his hands. Now, I'm not trying to hate on his speed. After all, he did run an official 4.53s 40 yard dash in the NFL combine. My deal is with his closing speed in the back field, and my advice would be simply: slow down. As a guy who played on the defensive line (I was no where near Clowney's skill and speed), I was always taught to chop your feet to control yourself and wrap up the ball carrier instead of going 100 mph into the backfield only to find yourself then knocked out of the play or missing the guy completely. Now Jadeveon Clowney has not missed many tackles. His first two years, he acquired 35.5 tackles for loss while also racking up 21 sacks. But every now-and-then (especially this past season), he would get around the offensive tackle, fly toward the ball carrier, and then... Whoops! Where'd he go? In the NFL, running backs and even some quarterbacks (like Johnny Manziel) has the ability to be elusive and escape pressure from those defenders that fly into the back field and out of control trying to land a highlight big hit, which is now being frowned upon in the league courtesy of the man Clowney himself. Probably the biggest issue I have with Clowney, although it hard to say, is whether he has the desire and passion to work hard in the NFL so that he may be successful. The issue of his work ethic was touched on this past season when he decided to take himself out of the game against Kentucky, despite getting the OK from trainers at South Carolina. Looking at his plays from this year compared to his first two, you can tell the difference in how handles offensive linemen off the snap and just jogs easily down the field. Of course, I do understand that he was injured and sick some over last season, but Jadeveon being represented as the amazingly talented "freak of nature" football player, taking himself out of a game after he was cleared to go?! It was just wrong on every level of excuses. He should already want to play because he loves the game like many already do and have, but he has the topper all football players dream of: a chance to go pro and make millions. His choice last season to take himself out of that game and not showing us the skills that we saw out of him as a kid from the state of South Carolina who shocked the nation when he was in high school as a man playing amongst boys, may just be what cost hi the No. 1 overall pick. But then again, I am no general manger and can only make my judgment as a fan and former player of the game.

So, it may seem like I was trying to slam both Johnny Manziel and Jadeveon Clowney and that I do not like them. Well... I like and respect them primarily as football players because of their great athleticism and niche for playing the game that I would love to have had in my time. My dislike beyond the on-field and off-field problems, honestly and truly, stems from the media's talk of how great and mighty these two are and that they should be considered Top 5 picks. If had control over the 2014 NFL Draft, I would say the Clowney would probably go somewhere between pick No. 10- No. 15 of the first round, while Manziel would probably not be drafted until mid to late second round into the early third round of the draft. But again, these are only my opinions on these two. See for yourself and make your own judgement. After all, we'll have to wait for August to see what these guys can really do and just how good they truly are.