FAMILIAR FACE ON THE FIELD
Rider vets played Manziel in college
Some members of the Saskatchewan Roughriders are ready to face a familiar foe — Johnny Manziel.
Although the Montreal Alouettes quarterback is poised to play against the Roughriders for the first time since entering the CFL, the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner did oppose four current members of the Green and White while starring for the Texas A&M Aggies.
Saskatchewan defensive backs Nick Marshall, Loucheiz Purifoy and Matt Elam, along with running back Tre Mason, all recorded victories over Manziel during their collegiate careers.
Marshall and Mason were teammates with the Auburn Tigers, who upset Manziel and the Aggies 4541 on Oct. 19, 2013, in College Station, Texas.
Purifoy and Elam were with the Florida Gators when they defeated Texas A&M 23-17 at College Station on Sept. 8, 2012.
“I’m 1-0 against him and I’m going to try to beat him again,” Purifoy said after Wednesday’s practice.
None of the aforementioned Riders could have imagined such a reunion when they were playing for their respective college teams. Back then, they all shared bigger dreams of playing in the NFL.
“If someone had me asked about the CFL, I would have said, ‘The what?’” said Purifoy, who had two defensive tackles against the Aggies in 2012. “The CFL wasn’t even on my mind.”
In 2013, Marshall was Auburn’s starting quarterback before switching to defensive back at the professional level. In his first season with the Riders, he has returned two interceptions for touchdowns and scored four times as the short-yardage quarterback.
Mason was Auburn’s starting tailback and was among the many offensive standouts in the shootout between Auburn and Texas. He will be in the backfield when the Riders play the Alouettes on Sunday.
The Tigers were ranked 24th heading into their 2013 game against the seventh-ranked Aggies. Marshall remembers there was a great deal of hype surrounding the matchup between Auburn and Manziel, who won the Heisman Trophy — presented to the top player in American college football — as a freshman.
“It was great because you knew that Johnny Football was the Heisman winner,” Marshall said. “You knew it was going to be big because of him, but the lights just weren’t going to be on him. They were going to be on me as well and I was able to do what I was able to do.”
The Auburn-texas game was a wildly offensive affair with the teams combining for 1,217 yards.
Marshall completed 11 of 23 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns. He also had 20 carries for 100 yards and two rushing touchdowns.
Manziel earned his share of the spotlight while completing 28 of 38 passes for 454 yards and four touchdowns. He also led the Aggies in rushing with 48 yards on 18 carries.
“It was a shootout because it was a high-powered offence,” Marshall said. “It was whatever defence got the first stop was going to win the game. We got the first stop and we won the game.”
Mason, who had 27 carries for 178 yards, scored what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown on a five-yard run with 1:19 remaining in the fourth quarter. Mason stretched the final few inches to score the touchdown.
“It was a nice moment,” Mason said. “It was a close game and a hard-nosed one down the wire. We came out victorious.”
Auburn outscored Texas 21-10 in the fourth quarter and sacked Manziel for a 22-yard loss on Texas’ last-ditch play not long after Mason’s touchdown.
Mason, Marshall, Elam, Purifoy and Manziel all went on to play in the NFL after college. Each player had different levels of success and some off-field issues, which contributed to them landing in the CFL.
Manziel started the season with the Hamilton Tiger-cats. On July 23, the Tiger-cats traded Manziel and offensive linemen Tony Washington and Landon Rice to the Alouettes for defensive end Jamaal Westerman and receiver Chris Williams, as well as 2020 and 2021 first-round picks.
Manziel has yet to throw a touchdown pass while being intercepted five times in three starts with the Alouettes.
Manziel, however, performed admirably in Montreal’s 31-14 loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Friday. He completed 18 of 25 passes for 212 yards and was intercepted once while facing constant pressure from Winnipeg ’s defence.
Despite Manziel’s slow start, Purifoy feels the CFL fits the quarterback’s style.
“It’s a big field and you have to chase him,” Purifoy said. “If you can make somebody chase you with his speed … He’s not running just to run the ball, he’s running to find open receivers and that’s to his advantage.”
Purifoy has noticed that Manziel has matured on the field since his college days.
“He’s the same player, he’s just more calm and composed,” Purifoy said. “I’m saying that because he stays in the pocket more up here. In college, he just ran around and made plays with his feet and his arm. Now, he’s actually trying to stay in the pocket and make his reads. When he doesn’t have it, he uses his athleticism and you have to stop that.”