Oh, Johnny.
Johnny, Johnny, Johnny.
If the Cleveland Browns aren't feeling at least a little bit of buyer's remorse by now, then there's something seriously wrong in Ohio.
Rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel, he of the first round draft pick status and alleged party-boy lifestyle, went home to Texas this weekend to watch his alma mater, Texas A&M, take on and defeat Arkansas at AT&T Stadium.
Manziel was, understandably, struck by some warm feelings and pangs of nostalgia.
No big deal.
But in what may be the absolute last comments a fan base and a coaching staff want to hear from their young quarterback - a quarterback who is already dealing with accusations of immaturity stemming from pictures that continually surface of him partying and cavorting - Manziel admitted that he misses college.
Well, parts of it at least.
"I don't think I miss school,'' said Manziel. "But I miss those guys in the locker room. I miss Coach Sumlin. I think it's fair for me to say that I miss college life, but this is the decision that I made. And I knew very well going into the draft last year that it was going to be different for me and going to be a time for me to grow up."
Yeah, that whole growing up thing - that's probably going to happen soon, right?
To be fair, Manziel is a 21-year-old that's been forced to deal with situations and expectations that most young people will never even come close to understanding. It may not have forced maturity on him, but it's certainly given him a unique perspective.
"You learn a lot,'' he said. "You learn about how close you are with a lot of people around you, too. I learned how close I was to my family and with my friends and who really (were) my friends and who was just hanging around because it was fun to hang around. You learn a lot about yourself and you learn a lot about the people around you and how people treat you. It's always funny to see the before and the after."
No one knows - not even Manziel - when or if the light will go on for him. But while he may not sound like a guy who is particularly thrilled with the choice he made to leave college when he did, he accepts that this is where he is and this is where he'll remain.
"That's the path I chose. And if I wanted to stay in college and sleep in and go to class and horse around like I was doing the past couple years, then I should have stayed."
