Manziel makes fresh history

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COLLEGE STATION — When Heisman Trophy voters scan the statistics in weighing Texas A&M freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel as a candidate, they'll come across one truly setting him apart from his competition.

PATs: 0-1. In plain English: zero for one on extra-point attempts.

Following a stretch of three grueling Southeastern Conference road victories, coach Kevin Sumlin opted for a bit of levity in the second half of A&M's 47-28 slamming of Sam Houston State on Saturday at Kyle Field.

So he trotted out Manziel, who'd just hooked up with receiver Uzoma Nwachukwu for an 89-yard touchdown pass, to try the extra point. The record-setting quarterback promptly booted the ball wide right, in a kick better resembling a fan halftime contest than live action.

Trey Williams #20 of the Texas A&M Aggies dives for a 6 yard touchdown in the second quarter against the Sam Houston State Bearkats at Kyle Field on November 17, 2012 in College Station, Texas. (Bob Levey / Getty Images) less Trey Williams #20 of the Texas A&M Aggies dives for a 6 yard touchdown in the second quarter against the Sam Houston State Bearkats at Kyle Field on November 17, 2012 in College Station, Texas. (Bob Levey / ... more Image 1 of / 66 Caption Close Manziel makes fresh history 1 / 66 Back to Gallery

“Wish he would have made that one,” A&M safety Steven Terrell said. “That might have made ESPN or something.”

A grinning Nwachukwu said he thought on the sidelines, ‘C'mon, Johnny, you're better than that!'”

Manziel was in every other category more fitting his considerable skills. He accounted for five touchdowns, rushing for two, throwing for two to fellow freshman Mike Evans and the final one to Nwachukwu in a little more than two quarters against the FCS squad.

Throwing for 267 yards (14 of 20) and rushing for another 100 on 16 carries, he became the first freshman in NCAA history, and fifth player overall, to reach 3,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing in a season.

The Bearkats helped light his fire with aggressive, physical play that also resulted in a couple of SHSU personal fouls.

“He's a fiery guy, and if you push his button, that's his ‘on' button,” Nwachukwu said.

Sumlin has not allowed Manziel to visit with the media this season, per his policy for freshmen. As for letting Manziel try the kick?

“It's a long season, and we've gone 11 straight weeks without a bye,” Sumlin said. “You try different things to keep the energy level up and keep it fun. He made one on Thursday. I thought we'd give it a shot.”

Manziel exited the blowout following the 9-2 Aggies' first drive of the third quarter, and backups Jameill Showers and Matt Joeckel played the rest of the way. When Sumlin began making wholesale substitutions, the Aggies watched a 47-0 lead dwindle to the final score.

A&M's low point of the game, however, came when senior running back Christine Michael threw a punch and was ejected.

“I feel for the guy, he's definitely charged up when he steps on the field,” said Nwachukwu, who added that the Aggies must be smarter.

Despite the setback Sam Houston (8-3), which saw its seven-game winning streak snapped, has its eyes on a bigger prize: the FCS playoffs. The Bearkats were in the national title game in 2011, but lost to North Dakota State.

“I told our guys in the locker room we need to put this game behind us,” SHSU coach Willie Fritz said Saturday.

Over in the other locker room, Manziel likely was trying to put his errant kick behind him, as well, as the Aggies move on to play host to Missouri on Saturday to wrap up the regular season.

bzwerneman@express-news.net

twitter: @brentzwerneman