Manziel could use off-field blocker

Recommended Video:

COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel's model girlfriend, Sarah Savage, recently coaxed him out of his home for what was supposed to be a few minutes.

“She said, 'Let's go to H-E-B and pick up some things,'” Manziel said.

His winking response to his longtime love: “I'll be here when you get back.”

“Come on, nobody will notice you,” she replied.

So Aggieland's most famous couple — the ravishing Savage has earned her own share of fame in the past few months — ventured to the grocery store that evening.

“I was like, all right, let's see how this goes,” recalled Manziel, a former Kerrville Tivy standout. “Twenty pictures later it was 11 at night.”

Milk and eggs, apparently, are no longer simple purchases for Manziel, who nearly four months ago made history as the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy. A&M has estimated it might bring in about $250 million off the Heisman triumph, while Manziel continues simply earning a scholarship in leading the Aggies into their second season in the Southeastern Conference.

Even a routine trip to the grocery store is an event when it involves Heisman winner Johnny Manziel. Even a routine trip to the grocery store is an event when it involves Heisman winner Johnny Manziel. Image 1 of / 35 Caption Close Manziel could use off-field blocker 1 / 35 Back to Gallery

Hollywood celebrities and pro athletes can giggle all the way to the bank in dealing with the hassles of fame. Manziel, meanwhile, can simply grimace while running a routine errand. It's one reason he wears black-rimmed glasses and a hat pulled low more often than not these days, as his version of a Groucho Marx ensemble.

Asked if he'd consider a fake beard, Manziel replied, “I need to figure something out.”

He'd also like to make one thing clear: He said he has been blessed by what's happened in the past year, going from fighting for the Aggies' starting job to becoming the most famous current college football player.

“One of the best parts of the position I'm in is getting to meet new people,” he said. “I've met a lot of new people — not just celebrities — but good, down-to-earth people who like to have a conversation with me about whatever. But it can get a little out of control if you don't keep it under wraps.”

While he still enjoys the nightlife in bigger cities, Manziel truly is more of a homebody in Aggieland, where the booming campus is considered downtown and Kyle Field its beacon.

“I remember going out my freshman year and stuff like that and being normal — being like everybody else,” Manziel said. “The other day me and (receiver) Mike Evans went to play basketball at the rec center and we (suddenly) had 1,000 people watching — just a game of pick-up basketball. It's just different, and I continue to adjust.

“I know I use that word a lot, but that's the best way to describe everything now.”

Which is why, if things continue at their current pace, Manziel likely will need a bodyguard, which of course isn't unusual for a national celebrity. Right now his lead blocker off the field is A&M student Nathan Fitch, who certainly didn't sign up for this sometimes hair-raising duty as Manziel's longtime best friend from Kerrville.

“Sometimes we'll get stuck in an establishment for an hour and a half because he's so particular about not offending anyone,” said Fitch, who's 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds. “People can get pretty pushy, because they're super excited to see him, and they lose their manners.”

So Fitch often plays the “bad guy” and at least tries to clear the way for Manziel. Down in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, over spring break, Manziel said he was fortunate to have former A&M linebacker Jonathan Stewart, among others, helping make way along the water.

A&M's associate athletic director for football, Justin Moore, said the program is working through the offices of the president and the provost to make it clear to professors and students that if Manziel is on campus for class, he needs to be treated like every other student “as much as possible.”

Manziel is taking only online courses this semester and is primarily in the football team's Bright Building when on campus. Moore said A&M hired extra security for last Saturday's Aggie Youth Experience, and officials were still left shaking their heads at the, well, experience.

“You can tell people we're not doing pictures or autographs, but they don't care,” Moore said. “They just stand there and don't listen. Then you've suddenly got a mob of people around him.”

Moore said he's in routine contact with Manziel regarding the matter and if there becomes true concern for his safety, A&M will provide him with a full-time bodyguard. It hasn't reached that point, but this situation is new to everyone, with a Heisman winner only entering his sophomore season.

“He can't go to Chick-Fil-A or anywhere else,” Moore said. “It's unlike anything we've ever seen.”