National Football League

Mike Pettine: Manziel has 'come a long way'

Published Nov. 13, 2014 4:40 p.m. ET

foxsports

Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel was a hot topic for Houston-area media who spoke with head coach Mike Pettine on a conference call Wednesday.

Manziel, who hails from Texas and played at Texas A&M, was talked about at one time as a potential option for the Texans with their No. 1 overall pick in April's NFL Draft. Instead Houston selected defensive lineman Jadeveon Clowney and Manziel fell to No. 22 in the first round, where he was picked by the Browns.

When asked about the rookie quarterback, Pettine seemed to separate Manziel the football player from Manziel the celebrity.

"Johnny Manziel the football player has been great for us," Pettine said. "He comes in the building, he prepares, he helps Brian (Hoyer) out as far as his preparation as the starter, he works hard in practice, he works hard in the weight room, he works hard in the meeting room.

"If you lived under a rock and you didn't know who he was and you just kind of spent some time around the building, he's just another guy on the team," Pettine said. "There is nothing in the way he carries himself that you would think that there is any diva like qualities or anything like that. He's humble and he's a worker."

Manziel's celebrity has trumped his playing time thus far in year one. The last time Manziel saw the field during a game was in Week 3 against the Baltimore Ravens.

While Manziel hasn't gotten the snaps, Pettine said he's seeing development in the 21-year-old.

"His game has come a long way since the beginning of the season," Pettine said. "Just coming off the practice field now — he had a heck of a day throwing when he was taking the reps as the backup and also some of the scout team reps."