The text message that got Johnny Manziel drafted

Credit: Craig Ruttle

Credit: Craig Ruttle


Quarterbacks are supposed to call plays, but so far, the biggest one of Johnny Manziel's NFL career came via text message.

A record number of people watched as the quarterback fell from a top position to out of the top 10. Eventually two hours had passed, 20 picks had been made, and Manziel was not one of them. The media and social networks were floored.

And then it happened. "With the 22nd pick in the 2014 of the NFL Draft," said Commissioner Roger Goodell, "the Cleveland Browns select Johnny Manziel, quarterback, Texas A&M." The crowd at Radio City Music Hall, almost on cue, erupted.

So what did it take for the Browns to finally make the pick? On a recent visit to the "SportsTalk with Bo Mattingly" radio show, on ESPN Arkansas 96.3, Browns quarterback coach, Dowell Loggains, revealed that the A&M prospect and 2012 Heisman Trophy winner sent him a text message on draft night saying, "I wish you guys would come get me. Hurry up and draft me because I want to wreck this league together."

The Browns finally had the quarterback they needed, one who was also eager to play for them. The writers of the movie "Draft Day," which focuses on the Cleveland Browns in the hours leading up to the draft, got it on screen similar to how it played out in real life. But despite the superstar that he was before the draft and soon-to-be infamous text message, Johnny Manziel's draft day saga and impending NFL career are no movie. He will, however, make a debut, and it will make a for a hot ticket.

Fortunately for Manziel, he is likely on speed dial now.

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