Manziel starting, taking centre stage
Johnny Football enters spotlight Friday against former team, Hamilton
Johnny Manziel couldn’t ask for a better team to make his CFL debut against.
Manziel will make his first CFL start Friday night when the Montreal Alouettes host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Manziel began the season with the Ticats and remained there until being dealt to the Als in a five-player deal on July 22 that also included two first-round draft picks.
“I feel fortunate enough this week to be going against a team, a defence that I’ve seen more than any other defence since I’ve been in the CFL,” Manziel told reporters in Montreal on Tuesday. “I feel like I really know this personnel very well, I feel like I know this team in and out because I was a part of it.
“It’s definitely going to be a little weird playing against those guys, but at the end of the day it’s business and I’m in a new home. It will be good to see some familiar faces this week, but also a challenge and a very good defence.”
Montreal acquired Manziel, along with offensive linemen Tony Washington and Canadian Landon Rice, for receiver Chris Williams, Canadian defensive lineman Jamaal Westerman and 2021-22 first-round draft picks.
The move reunited Manziel with Alouetes head coach Mike Sherman, who recruited Manziel to Texas A&M.
Manziel dressed for Montreal’s 44-23 loss last week to Edmonton but didn’t play. Vernon Adams Jr. went the distance, completing 15-of-28 passes for 217 yards and an interception while rushing for 72 yards and a TD on eight carries.
Adams, a former teammate of Manziel’s in Hamilton, wasn’t the least bit surprised by the move.
“We all knew he wasn’t coming just to sit,” Adams said. “We helped him learn the offence as quick as possible.”
Manziel made headlines across North America in May when he signed a two-year deal with Hamilton. The 2012 Heisman Trophy winner played in both of the Ticats’ exhibition games — completing 21-of-31 passes for 168 yards and a TD while rushing six times for 19 yards — but remained on the sidelines as Jeremiah Masoli’s backup once the regular season began.
“I felt like the thing I’ve been missing . . . is reps,” Manziel said. “I don’t think there’s anything to be nervous about. I feel like as the game comes around this week, I’m going to know what I’m doing on each and every play and know what my job is.
“I think I’ll come out and do some things well and I’m sure I’ll have some things I want back. That’s just the way that football is anytime and anywhere I’ve started.”
Sherman said: “We obviously traded for John for a specific reason. I think we have two very good QBs, but we’re going to give the nod to John for this game.”
Both Hamilton (2-4) and Montreal (1-5) have lost three straight games.