ATLANTA — T🥂he Alabama football program owes Johnny Manziel a Thꦺank You note, a Christmas card and an iTunes gift certificate.
Consider what Manziel has done f🦂or the Crimson Tide in ൲less than a year:
The Texas A&M quarterback hit the refocus button for the Tide last season when he stormed into Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Nov. 18 and strutted out with a 29-24 win. Ala🙈bama regrouped, winning its last four games, including a 42-14 beatdown of Notre Dame in the BCS Championship Game for its second straight national t🎃itle.
The Tide was this year’s consensus preseason No. 1💝 team. There should have been more pressure on them going into today’s season opener against dangerous Virginia Tech at the Georgia 🎐Dome.
But the story of Alabama trying to make history by becoming the first team ever to win three st🌊raight national titles has been overshadowed by Manziel’s Bummer of a Summer Tour, which culminated in the inept NCAA suspending him for the first half of today’s opener against Rice, for not being able to prove he received money from autograph dealers.
Bama Nation says, “Thank you, Johnny.”
“The spotlight is 10 times brighter and 10 times hotter than I thought it was two months ago,” Manziel said this summer, before the story of his signing of hunꦓdreds of pieces of sports paraphernalia broke.
It is so bright and so hot Alabama coach Nick Saban — The Focused One — has been able t🐟o use his Heisman stiff arm on questions about a repeat.
“There’s no external factors that matter at all to 𒁃any player on our team,” Saban said. “It’s all about how they perform in this game🏅.
“It’s ꦓn🌊ot what they did last year, it’s not about the girlfriend, it’s not about anything but playing this game. None of it means anything unless you make it mean something.”
The Tide certainly can make this a special sea♉son by winning their fourth title in five years.
“I neverꩲ thought there would be a team that was as dominating for as many years as they have [been],’’ Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said.
The Tide will be led by quarterback A.J. McCarron, running back T.J. Yeldon, the best linebacking c♕orps in the SEC and Saban, who witnessed Manziel rack up 345 yards in total offense and throw two touchdown passes against Alabama last season.
“I guess I feel like Justin Bieber or something,” Manziel joked at SEC media da🌃y.
Saban might not laug🉐h, but he certainly is thankful the Texas A&am☂p;M quarterback, not his team’s quest for a place in history, was the story of the summer.