Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel got protection wherever he goes.
On the field, the fast-rising Heisman Trophy candidate has the benefit of one of the best offensive lines in the country.
Off the field, the redshirt freshman has an entire university trying to do what's in the best interest of one of college football's brightest stars.
It's not an easy job as many enterprising folks are trying to make a quick buck off Johnny Football. A quick look at eBay on Tuesday afternoon showed 93 Manziel items for sale, including several versions of Johnny Football T-shirts and even a Johnny Heismanzel shirt. There's even a box of Wheaties that has his picture on it.
"Our key focus right now is protection," said Jason Cook, the school's vice president of marketing and communications. "Protection of Manziel's status as a current student athlete and also we want to prevent third parties from working a profit from his image and likeness. We're in situation where it's all hands on deck."
Manziel's rise from fighting for the starting job in spring football to a national star caught everyone off guard. Manziel's No. 2 jersey wasn't one that was considered when the school met with Adidas in the winter to determine possible jerseys to be sold in addition to the traditional No. 12 that's always for sale.
But when Manziel starting putting up record numbers this season for the No. 8-ranked team in the BCS poll, the school had to act fast. It just couldn't act as fast as people with a good eye for graphics and good equipment.
Texas A&M has sent several cease and desist orders against people trying to make money off Manziel and the" Johnny Football" nickname, shutting down everything from T-shirts to action figures. Yes, someone actually made an action figure of the 19-year-old.
The school itself has tried to meet the demand for Manziel gear. After Manziel threw for 191 yards and rushed for another 129 in a 30-27 victory over Mississippi on Oct. 6, the school met with Adidas again to try and get No. 2 gear in stock.
More than 500 No. 2 T-shirts were at the campus bookstore before the team played LSU Oct. 20. Fifty jerseys went on sale at the bookstore Friday afternoon and were sold out Monday. Another 700 should arrive in 10-14 days, just in time for the holidays.
The jerseys don't have Manziel's name or his nickname on them because per NCAA rules the school cannot profit from his name or his likeness. As for the "Johnny Football" moniker, the school is working with Manziel's family to help them trademark the nickname for the future.
The school got some help in that endeavor from one of their new SEC rivals. LSU went through something similar last year with Heisman finalist Tyrann Mathieu, who quickly became a star and had a catchy nickname as well, "Honey Badger."
The school and Manziel have plenty at stake over the next few years because Manziel is just a redshirt freshman.
"We're working in conjunction with the family to trademark 'Johnny Football' for current use and future considerations," Cook said. "We want to make sure his current and future interests are protected. It's a groundbreaking approach. As Manziel's career continues to grow, we want to take care of those actions now and handle things properly."
The school is also trying to handle Manziel's Heisman campaign. Getting Manziel's name out in the public isn't an issue. After Saturday's 29-24 upset of then No. 1 Alabama on national television, all college football fans know who Johnny Football or Johnny Heismanziel is now.
It's now about making sure the voters know everything there is to know about a quarterback who is just the second freshman in NCAA Football Bowl subdivision history to rush for 1,000 yards and pass for 2,000 in a single season.
"We're in a situation now where there's already a significant amount of awareness and name recognition," Cook said. "Although our fans want to see billboards and blimps, our target audience truly is the individual who will be voting. We're working in direct effort to make sure they have the right information to make the right decision about the right candidate."
Maybe the school could send them all an action figure.
