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The NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana gives underrated prospects an opportunity to shine on the big stage in front of coaches and scouts.
One of the most highly-touted position groups at both the draft and the Combine is quarterback. Each year, it’s one of the position groups that folks are tuned into the most.
Some signal-callers have been able to drastically improve their stocks with big performances in Indy. One of the biggest names to do it was Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel in 2014. Let’s take a look at his Combine performance that helped boost his stock over 10 years ago.
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Johnny Manziel NFL Combine stats
Johnny Manziel entered the Combine with some question marks surrounding his NFL future. While he won the Heisman and helped take down No. 1 Alabama across his two seasons with the Aggies, there were questions about his off-field issues.
During his time at A&M, he was suspended for the first-half of a game for signing autographs, which was against NCAA rules, and was arrested in June 2012 for disorderly conduct and having a fake I.D. His NFL.com scouting profile even says the quarterback will be challenged to avoid a Ryan Leaf-like crash-and-burn scenario if he doesn’t settle down and mature.
But on the field in Indy, he put up some impressive numbers in the drills, opting out of doing the bench press. Here’s a look at his workout results.
DrillResultRank among QBs40-yard dash4.68 secondsNo. 4Bench pressDNP–Vertical jump31.5 inchesNo. 5Broad jump9 feet, 5 inchesNo. 53-cone drill6.75 secondsNo. 220-yard shuttle4.03 secondsNo. 1
The one thing Manziel didn’t do at the Combine was throw in front of scouts, opting to do so at Texas A&M’s Pro Day later in the pre-draft process.
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What was Johnny Manziel’s 40 time?
Johnny Manziel ran a lightning fast 4.68, which ranked fourth among quarterbacks that year. Only three signal-callers ranked ahead of him, in Virginia Tech’s Logan Thomas (4.61), Miami’s Stephen Morris (4.63) and South Carolina’s Connor Shaw (4.66).
“The hard part is, what people don’t understand, is that Johnny, he just can’t wake up and do that in the 40, there’s technique that’s involved,” Manziel’s QB trainer Ryan Flaherty told TSN’s Vinnie Iyer in 2014. “Quick is still more what the game is all about, and that’s where he stands out. He’s been developing his quickness for a while.”
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Johnny Manziel NFL Combine measurements
Weight-wise, Johnny Manziel was one of the slimmest and shortest signal-callers of the group, checking in at 5-foot-11, the only quarterback not clearing six feet. His 207 pounds was slightly above Shaw (206) and the same as Georgia’s Aaron Murray (207).
Height5-11Weight207 poundsArms31 3/8″Hands9 7/8″
MORE: NFL Combine bench press records
Johnny Manziel NFL Combine interview
Johnny Manziel met with the media during his time in Indy, and it was a highly-anticipated availability. Due to Texas A&M’s media policy prohibiting freshmen from speaking with the media, Manziel was only available for interviews at the end of his 2012 season and his sophomore 2013 campaign.
In Indy, Manziel tried to distance himself from his off-field issues and put the focus on his football career. He described himself as “playing 10-feet tall” while dodging a question about his 5-foot-11 measurement.
Via ESPN:
That was one of several good lines Manziel had ready for his combine interview, where one of his main goals clearly was to come across as a pocket passer. He said he can’t wait to show folks he’s more than an improviser.
But given the chance to throw at the combine and display those skills, he declined, preferring instead to wait until his planned and packaged pro day at College Station.
Manziel also emphasized that the Hollywood image of him is wrong. He said he’s a small-town guy from Kerrville, Texas. But he just happens to be a small-town guy who was able to be seen at several major events across the country while in college.
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Johnny Manziel NFL Combine drug test
Part of the evaluation process for teams includes mandatory drug tests for all players. While Manziel did pass his, Manziel’s former agent, Erik Burkhardt, revealed his father nearly went to the hospital to fake a heart attack to avoid Johnny taking the test. That came to light during the Netflix documentary “Untold: Johnny Football,” released in 2023:
This Manziel thing is incredible.
Manziel’s agent was gonna have his dad fake a heart attack so Manziel could dodge the drug test at the combine!!
He later discovered that Manziel only passed all his drug tests at A&M by having some 4th string QB piss for him 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/yIbOM2MPyB
— Sam Monson (@SamMonsonNFL) August 9, 2023
Burkhardt added that Manziel hydrated and took drug tests in his hotel in Indy to make sure he’d pass the ones at the Combine:
“I get like three gallons of water, a bunch of Pedialyte and four drug tests,” Burkhardt said. “There’s, like, six hotels at the combine, so every team’s staying at these same hotels. We get on the elevator and oop! Two general managers and a college scouting director get on the elevator. I’m holding the drug tests, trying to hide them. We go to my room.”
“We’re holding his piss up in the bathroom of my hotel room and it’s a little ambiguous. Johnny’s just crushing liquids. We take our second one. It’s a little lighter. So he’s like ‘ha ha ha, we got this sh–.’ I was like, ‘Keep drinking.'”
MORE: Why does Rich Eisen run the 40 every year?
Although Manziel entered the 2014 NFL Draft with a good chance to be one of the first five picks taken. Instead, he suffered a freefall in the draft, as the cameras kept showing an anxious Manziel throughout the night. The Jacksonville Jaguars shocked everyone by taking quarterback Blake Bortles from UCF with the third overall pick over Manziel.
Via NFL.com:
The cameras captured the moments of joy around him, then whipped around to document another moment of Manziel agony, his nervousness making him look nearly nauseous. When the Jacksonville Jaguars stunned everyone by selecting Blake Bortles with the third overall pick, Manziel took another sip of water as someone nearby said, “That’s not moving the meter.”
When Manziel stood up and began walking away, someone had to tell the cameras that he was just going to the bathroom — and that was telling, too. He already knew he wasn’t getting picked at that moment. The quarterback-needy teams took their turns, and his agent’s phone did not ring. Hour after hour, Manziel sat at his table, the one closest to the curtain that led to the stage, forced repeatedly by its position into making the uncomfortable decision to either congratulate the next lucky selectee — which he did often, most enthusiastically for fellow Aggies Jake Matthews and Mike Evans — or to stare down or straight ahead as one more player walked by.
“It’s kind of morbid, isn’t it?” said another person passing by.
When was Johnny Manziel drafted?
Johnny Manziel was finally selected in the first round at No. 22 overall to the Cleveland Browns. His NFL career lasted just two seasons, ultimately playing in just 15 games over his first two seasons.
He spent 2018 with the Canadian Football League, then played for the short-lived Alliance for American Football’s Memphis Express in 2019 and later playing for Fan Controlled Football from 2021-2022.
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