At SEC Media Day, Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel initially said that A.J. McCarron did not wake him up on the Saturday morning at the Manning Camp that led to Manziel’s being dismissed. Manziel and AJ McCarron were roommates in Louisiana that fateful weekend.
That’s why Manziel missed the meeting that got him kicked out of the Manning Passing Camp. There are many holes in the story of Manziel, and it appears AJ McCarron covered for Manziel. Which is what you’d expect him to do. McCarron did the right thing in that situation.
When asked about the incident at SEC Media Days, the Alabama quarterback gave us some bromides and vague comments.
I can’t answer on Johnny Manziel’s part. My name is A.J. Everything that has to do with him, he’s his own man. I’m not going to speak on another man’s business. That’s how I was raised. If it don’t have nothing to do with you, don’t speak on it. I know how I handle myself out in public, how I carry myself in front of people. That’s what I’m worried about, trying to be the best player and the best person off the field that I can be for my family and the University of Alabama. I never want to disrespect them in any way.
Obviously, that’s the yearbook answer, or reciting a boy scout oath. It’s a well-rehearsed canned response by AJ McCarron that says nothing.
Read it again.
Read it closer. It really sounds like he’s saying what we all think; that Johnny Manziel is really as wild and crazy as you might think he is. His comments are exactly what you would say is in that situation if we trying to avoid throwing your roommate under the bus at all costs. And he’s doing the right thing. You can’t really criticize AJ for anything he said here. What about Manziel?
Well, maybe he’s been criticized enough already.
Texas A&M and Alabama meet Sept. 14 at Kyle Field. You think that’s going to get some hype?
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. An analyst for 95.7 The Fan, he also writes on Chicago sports media for Chicago Now. President Obama follows him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)