MANZIEL FINDING HIS GROOVE IN HAMILTON
Masoli still Ticats’ best option under centre, but Johnny Football is starting to catch up
June Jones has his starting quarterback in place, but the Hamilton Tiger-Cats head coach is keeping the door ajar.
With Johnny Manziel getting more comfortable with each day that unfolds at Ticats training camp, Jones isn’t shy to the idea that incumbent Jeremiah Masoli will have a challenge on his hands.
“I would say Jeremiah is doing very well and until something creates for me to take him out of there, I would say he will be our starter for the whole year, hopefully, and win the Grey Cup,” Jones said after the Ticats practised on Wednesday.
All the more incentive for Johnny Football to stake a claim to the job at some point.
“He expects to be (the starter),” Jones said. “Jeremiah does, too. If (Manziel) is the best one, guess what, he’s playing. Right now, Jeremiah is.”
Though his progress remains in the infancy stages, Manziel — who did not meet with media on Wednesday — was in command during team drills in the first half of practice. Manziel wisely led the Ticats offence down the field, completing six of seven passes including one for a touchdown to rookie receiver Harvey Binford.
No contact, of course, but a positive step is a positive step.
“I did not really expect the ball, but like they say, you should always expect the ball,” Binford said. “It felt good getting a pass from Johnny. He’s trying to get in a rhythm. It was pretty awesome.”
What’s becoming clear for Jones and his staff, and for anyone who has come out to watch at Ron Joyce Stadium on the campus of McMaster University (including a crew from ESPN on Wednesday), is that Manziel has taken little time to start finding a rhythm.
Certainly, the learning curve for the 2014 NFL first-round pick and the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner will continue for months; in the initial days of camp, however, Manziel has not been performing like a player whose most recent significant football game was during the 2015 season with the Cleveland Browns.
In short: The 25-year-old doesn’t exhibit much rust.
“I don’t see it out here right now that he has been away (from the game),” Jones said. “He looks like a guy that has come in, played the game before and he is working at it and getting better.
“You watch when Jeremiah throws it and then when (Manziel) throws the same play, it’s not quite as fast but that’s because he has not done it as much as Jeremiah. He will get faster and faster and quicker and quicker. He throws the ball very accurately, which is what you have to have (to be successful).
“(Manziel) is a smart kid and I feel good that he is where he should be right now.”
Masoli must be commended, considering his attitude and approach with the Manziel situation.
Until last Saturday, when Manziel was signed, there was no question whether Masoli would be the starter. He earned that privilege last season, taking over from Zach Collaros after taking several seasons to find a solid footing in the CFL.
Now, Masoli finds himself assisting Manziel in learning the nuances of the CFL, and at the same time giving guidance to the man who many think will be Hamilton’s starter in time.
“I have been up here a little longer, so I am just trying to help him out,” said Masoli, who threw his first pass in the CFL in 2013. “I know it’s hard and can be a tough transition coming up from the south.”
Masoli’s advice?
“I think he already has got (a handle): Just keep it simple,” Masoli said.
“Don’t make it too crazy. I know there is another guy (on the field, 12 as opposed to 11), but it’s still football. A curl is a curl and a flat is a flat. Just step into it and throw it.”
Masoli said he’s not bothered by the fact he is looking over his shoulder at a player who had such a memorable two-year stint at Texas A&M before crashing to a stop with the Browns.
“It’s the same as every other year, you compete to get better and the guys who are around you are going to compete to get better,” Masoli said. “That’s football and I love that part of the game.
“Look, man, anything not in my control, I really don’t worry about.”