John McClain of the Houston Chronicle has maintained for several weeks that the Texans will use the first overall pick in the 2014 draft to select a quarterback, and for his latest Chronicle piece, he got a chance to speak extensively with one of the top candidates for that No. 1 pick: Johnny Manziel. The former Heisman winner expressed in strong terms that he hoped and expected to be picked No. 1 by the Texans in May. Here are a few notable quotes from Manziel, as detailed by McClain:
On how he wants the Texans to feel about drafting him:
“I want them to say absolutely, without a doubt, with 100% certainty, that I’m who they want. I want everybody from the janitor at Reliant Stadium to the front office executive assistant all the way up to (owner) Bob McNair to say, ‘This kid is 100%, can’t miss. This is who we want being the face of our program. We want the Texas kid staying in Texas and leading the Texans.'”
On how the Texans should feel if they pass on him and he’s drafted by the Jaguars (No. 3):
“It would be the worst decision they’ve ever made. I’d be in the same division playing against them twice a year. Sorry, but you just turned that chip on my shoulder from a Frito into a Dorito.”
On his expectations for his NFL career:
“People can call me crazy, and it’s not cockiness — I’m going to put myself in (position) to win the Super Bowl every single year. A 5’10” guy (Russell Wilson) just won the Super Bowl in his second year in the NFL. That’s unreal. I want to be the first rookie to win the Super Bowl.”
On the possibility of being drafted by the Browns:
“If something happens, and it’s the Cleveland Browns, I’m going to pour my heart out for the Dawg Pound and try to win a Super Bowl for Cleveland. I don’t care if they’ve had 20 starting quarterbacks since 1999. I’m going to be the 21st and the guy that brought them the Super Bowl.”
On leaving the ‘Johnny Football’ moniker behind and simply becoming Johnny Manziel:
“Johnny Football is the stuff you see on TMZ. There’s part of that folktale that goes along with it and tries to twist me into somebody I’m not all the time. I feel like now there’s kind of like this frozen food package — a prewrapped, precooked package of who I am. Johnny Manziel is the guy that – whether it’s Houston, Jacksonville, Cleveland or Oakland – you’ll have to drag off that field before I stop playing for those guys. Those are my teammates. Those are my brothers from now on. I’m going to fight until there’s no time left on the clock. That’s Johnny Manziel.”
That’s because he doesn’t want to play for the Jags.