Rossley is the reason Manziel ended up at A$M

[dcpony]

http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/11/14 ... after.html

Star-Telegram
Johnny Manziel stands tall after most Texas schools pass him by
Posted Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012 1 Comment Print Reprints
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If you are a jubilant and pleasantly shell-shocked Aggie, and you are rejoicing in the sudden glory of Johnny Football, and the sudden emergence of the old school on the Brazos in the bright lights of a national stage, do yourself this favor:

Pause a second, and give thanks for such names as Tom Rossley, and Mark Smith, and, yes, even Drew Brees.

More on those guys in a minute, but first, the scorecard.

Maybe it's just me, but the first time I ever laid eyes, via TV, on Johnny Manziel was the Florida game to open the season, and there were enough wow moments in the first half that I was immediately thinking, "Scorecard."

As in, where did this kid come from, and what kind of fierce recruiting battle did Texas A&M have to win two years ago? At halftime that day, I immediately called my personal state-of-Texas recruiting guru (Landry Locker, a huge Longhorns fan, and a co-worker on local ESPN radio).

Even he, however, fumbled for an answer.

As it turned out, there was a good reason for that fumbling.

Johnny (Too Small) Football was pretty much a recruiting reject in this state. Didn't fit the "dimensions." Too Small for Football is 6-feet tall, if that.

It didn't matter that Johnny was a high school quarterbacking legend down in the Hill Country town of Kerrville. He simply didn't measure up on the big-school recruiting charts.

Now, of course, alums at other schools across Texas are asking, "Where were we on this kid?"

The answer:

You weren't anywhere on this kid, but if it's any consolation, almost nobody was offering a scholarship, at least in Texas.

When you go Google on Johnny Football, a long list of schools will appear, those who supposedly offered scholarships. Most of those schools -- at least in Texas -- actually didn't offer scholarships.

Mark Smith knows.

He's the football coach at Converse Judson High School, near San Antonio. But before that, he was Johnny's coach at Kerrville Tivy High School. The high-powered recruiting services weren't touting Manziel, so Smith became his player's No. 1 promoter.

As he admitted this week, the frustration level was immense, because exactly two Division I schools in Texas wanted Johnny as a quarterback. Two.

"That was Texas A&M and Rice, and that's it," said Smith, who stressed not to believe everything you might read on Johnny, even from schools that reportedly offered a scholarship as an "athlete" or defensive back.

"Oregon was in there, and Johnny was signed, sealed and committed to Oregon," said Smith. "Stanford was also in there on him as a quarterback. They offered. So did Iowa State and some others. But in Texas, it was Rice and it was finally Texas A&M."

Look, recruiting is obviously a crapshoot, but it makes you wonder, now in hindsight, what does an Oregon know and a Stanford know, that schools in Texas don't know about quarterbacks?

I mentioned to Smith that I was shocked Baylor wasn't involved, with Art Briles being the top quarterback guru maybe in the nation. "Baylor offered as a DB, not as a quarterback, and then when Johnny didn't go to a DB camp Baylor was holding, even the DB scholarship was yanked," he said. "In the end, there was no offer from Baylor."

I also figured Manziel was exactly the type of high schooler TCU has hit on for years. Gary Patterson finds them when they are underrated and undervalued. "TCU didn't offer, period," said Smith.

Well, Houston? That's where current A&M coach Kevin Sumlin and his young offensive coordinator, Kliff Kingsbury, both came from.

Smith: "Kliff came through Kerrville, and loved Johnny, but I don't know, there was something about they already had a quarterback committed. They didn't offer."

Of course, Mack Brown always takes a hit in these cases, because the Whiney Orange can never believe "a player" didn't sign with UT. Actually, many of them do, at least if they are the five-star and four-star recruits. Manziel was not that.

"Two things about Texas," answered Smith, "No. 1, Johnny dreamed of playing in Austin. He absolutely loved Texas I guess from when he was a little kid. If Texas had offered him a scholarship even as an offensive lineman, he would have taken it.

"Texas offered nothing. I've seen it written where they offered as a DB, but that's not true. Johnny would have gone, believe me.

"But the second thing is to give a lot of credit to Duane Akina [Mack's assistant head coach and defensive backs coach]. Duane worked it hard. He became totally convinced Johnny was a quarterback who could play at that level. He really wanted Johnny.

"When it comes to recruiting, of course, Duane had to then sell Johnny to the offensive staff, and in the end, to Mack. He couldn't make that sell because Johnny didn't fit the dimensions. I know they regret it now, but Duane is off the hook, for sure."

And then there are the Aggies.

Tom Rossley is a longtime and good football name in Texas. He was Mike Sherman's senior adviser on all things offense at Texas A&M, and after Sherman was fired after the 2011 season, Rossley retired.

But Tom's Aggie legacy, Johnny Manziel, is now wowing the nation. "Rossley was a lot like Duane Akina," said Smith. "We spent a lot of time talking about Johnny. He also became totally convinced the kid was a player at quarterback. But Johnny had to then convince Mike to give the scholarship. Mike agreed."

When Sherman said yes, Johnny, wanting to stay in Texas, de-committed from Oregon.

And Drew Brees? Speaking of a Texas high school quarterback once considered Too Small for Football in this state (he went to Purdue and the rest is history), Smith did plenty of speaking. "I mentioned Drew's name to about every recruiter," said Smith, laughing, "and certainly to coach Rossley. I think it stuck with Tom.

"But Tom is why Johnny is now at A&M and not at Oregon."

Again, maybe it's only me, but the recruiting scoreboard is interesting, now knowing what we know. I'm still surprised Baylor and TCU weren't in there on Manziel, more so than even UT. But you can't be right all the time. In this case, however, being wrong was a critical miss.

One other question I had for Mark Smith was this:

Is it true Johnny was every bit the high school baseball talent as he is a quarterback?

"I would say, yes, that's true," said Smith. "but if you really want to know, his best sport is probably basketball."

Johnny Basketball?

The legend grows.

Randy Galloway can be heard 3-6 p.m. weekdays on Galloway & Co. on ESPN/103.3 FM.

Randy Galloway, 817-390-7697

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/11/14 ... rylink=cpy

[GiddyUp]

Wow

[skurtn]

I guess QBs suck if they're not 5-star recruits and aren't being looked at by the likes of SEC, ACC, and Big 12 teams.
Oh.. wait.. heh

[SMU 86]

I guess QBs suck if they're not 5-star recruits and aren't being looked at by the likes of SEC, ACC, and Big 12 teams.
Oh.. wait.. heh

He was offered by Pac 12 schools and Big 12 schools. I don't see your point. In reality the system that aTm currently runs fits him to a tee. He probably would not have started at Stanford or Oregon. But sometimes you just have to be a good fit for the system. Manziel probably would not have done as well in Sherman's system. Obviously your exaggerating is ridiculous and off base. The real genius of the offense of Kingsbury. I think Showers would have starred in this offense as well imo.

[skurtn]

Here, I'll make it clearer.

I find it ironic that on one hand, it's OK to understand that it takes the right player to fit into a system, and that it's not just about stars and top-tier FBS offers.
Then on the other hand, make those same comparisons about JJ's recruiting efforts.

[SMU 86]

Here, I'll make it clearer.

I find it ironic that on one hand, it's OK to understand that it takes the right player to fit into a system, and that it's not just about stars and top-tier FBS offers.
Then on the other hand, make those same comparisons about JJ's recruiting efforts.

Manziel would not have fit here as well as our offense take a year to learn. Again, this situation is not the norm. Look at Florida, Georgia and Notre Dame that have highly recruited players as well others. I find it ironic when people find something that is not he norm and try to make it the norm. It tends to be show ignorance.

[SMUer]

Most people would earn a Ph.D. in the time it (apparently) takes to learn our system. We need a six year eligable QB like Casey Keenum.

[SoCal_Pony]

Wow

Agreed, Wow.....

An article about great offensive minded HCs in Texas and no mention of JJ

[SoCal_Pony]

Here, I'll make it clearer.

I find it ironic that on one hand, it's OK to understand that it takes the right player to fit into a system, and that it's not just about stars and top-tier FBS offers.
Then on the other hand, make those same comparisons about JJ's recruiting efforts.

Here, I'll make it even more clearer.

If JJ had developed any QBs during his stay here, regardless of stars or offers, you would see a lot less criticism of his recruiting efforts.