COMEBACK TRAIL
Johnny Manziel is Austin-bound for Spring League
The Spring League, coming to Austin in late March, has just gone national.
Johnny Manziel announced Wednesday he will try to start rebuilding his pro football reputation in the three-week developmental league, which will practice and play games at Circuit of the Americas.
Immediately, the story was played up by media outlets coast to coast. The 2012 Heisman Trophy winner has made headlines far too often for his off-the-field troubles since leaving Texas A&M. Just Tuesday, the Kerrville Tivy alum disclosed to “Good Morning America” he is bipolar and sober.
“Football has been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember. Sometimes you take for granted how much you value something until it’s gone,” Manziel told Bleacher Report. “My goal is
to make it back to the NFL, and I realize I have to earn that privilege.
“The Spring League has provided me with a great opportunity to play ball again, and ultimately, that is all I want to do. I miss the competition. I’ve made my share of mistakes, but I’m 25 years old, and I know my best football is ahead of me.”
About 150 players, mostly young prospects, will gather for the Spring League and be divided into four teams. They will practice daily and play games on the first two Saturdays in April. The games will be broadcast by Turner Sports’ new livestreaming service.
COTA Chairman Bobby Epstein said the games will be held in a 3,000-seat facility where the FCB Escola soccer academy, an arm of FC Barcelona, is held. Tickets to the Saturday doubleheaders will start at $39.50.
“When we began talking with the Spring League, we thought we’d be well on our way with a 5,000-seat USL stadium,” Epstein said. “We already have two natural grass fields currently used by FCB Escola. We built the second field to allow for training when the Grand Plaza field is in use (by the campers) or unavailable.
“Additionally, for Spring League we are in the process of installing an artificial turf training field. It won’t be full-sized but will be per- fect for scouting drills and practices.”
Brian Woods, CEO of the Spring League, said 10 NFL teams and several Canadian Football League teams attended the camp last year in West Virginia. In all, he said 22 NFL clubs requested game film. The inaugural Spring League helped place more than a dozen players in NFL or CFL camps.
Manziel last played in the NFL in 2015 with the Cleveland Browns, who drafted him in the first round in 2014.
“We’re excited to have such a dynamic player as Johnny taking part in the Spring League,” Woods said. “We believe our platform is the ideal forum for Mr. Manziel to enact his NFL comeback.”