Manziel eager about enjoying for Houston in XFL
Free-agent quarterback Johnny Manziel is expressing curiosity within the XFL’s new Houston group, saying he would relish the prospect to play in his residence state and be reunited with coach June Jones.
Whereas showing on the TriStar collectors present in Houston on Saturday, Manziel mentioned his XFL prospects with a number of reporters. He informed the Houston Chronicle that a part of his curiosity can be based mostly on the proximity to Texas A&M, the place he was a Heisman Trophy winner.
“It is a stone’s throw from Faculty Station,” Manziel mentioned. “A number of Aggies drove from Houston to Faculty Station. Houston’s a fantastic metropolis that’ll at all times be close to and pricey to me.”
After two seasons out soccer, Manziel signed with the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats final yr and performed beneath Jones, a former NFL and school quarterback and coach. Manziel informed Fox 26 that it might be “very cool” to play for Jones as soon as once more.
“Coach Jones is a superb man,” Manziel mentioned. “I loved him from an offensive standpoint, from a private standpoint. He is been there for me, particularly after I was in Hamilton, attending to a brand new place, a special nation. I loved my time with him very completely, and I believe it might be a fantastic alternative.”
Manziel additionally mentioned he can be prepared to play for the XFL’s Dallas franchise, telling the Chronicle that he was intrigued that the league has two Texas groups.
After stints within the NFL, CFL and AAF, Johnny Manziel says he’d be eager about enjoying within the XFL for both Houston or Dallas. Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Photographs
The 26-year-old Manziel has beforehand addressed enjoying within the XFL, which is slated to start play in February 2020. He informed TMZ in April that he can be open to “any soccer choices,” together with the resurrected league that operated for one season in 2001.
On Might 20, Jones mentioned Manziel “performed excellent for me” in Hamilton and that he anticipated the quarterback to be within the XFL draft pool.
Manziel by no means performed in a recreation beneath Jones in Canada and was in the end traded to the Montreal Alouettes, the place he performed in eight contests earlier than his contract was terminated.
There had been some query about Manziel’s eligibility for the XFL, which has a coverage excluding gamers with a legal file from the league. Manziel had confronted a home violence cost after he was accused of hitting and threatening his ex-girlfriend in January 2016. These expenses have been dismissed in November 2017. However commissioner Oliver Luck informed the PFT PM podcast in April that Manziel wasn’t dominated out from becoming a member of the league.
Drafted 22nd general within the 2014 NFL draft, the XFL can be Manziel’s fourth skilled league since leaving Texas A&M after the 2013 season. In 2018, he was kicked out of the CFL for violating the phrases of his settlement with the league, whereas the AAF folded lower than a month after he joined the league.
“I believe I am in place personally. I believe I have been doing the fitting issues,” Manziel informed Fox 26. “When the chance presents itself shifting ahead, we’ll see how issues go.”