Thompson, clearly, has respect for that. He identified Manziel, McCarron and Oregon's Marcus Mariota as the three most deserving Heisman Trophy candidates, saying of why Manziel belongs: "One, because we haven't stopped the cat yet, and two, because he got better from last year to this year. ... Johnny sees the field as well as anybody I've ever played against. He reminds me of Fran Tarkenton, if some of you remember him. And that cat is hard to get down."