Manziel Questioned by NCAA Investigators
A source said Monday that reigning Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel was questioned by NCAA investigators for the better part of Sunday.
ESPN reported on Tuesday that the officials met with Manziel for almost six hours on the Texas A&M Campus in College Station. The source did not specify if the investigators had gathered enough information or if follow-up meetings were required.
Manziel is under school and NCAA investigation for allegedly accepting cash in exchange for signing memorabilia. As it is, the player also known as "Johnny Football" is still listed as the Aggies' starting quarterback for Saturday's season opener against Rice. The Manziels' family lawyer, Jim Darnell, could not answer when pressed for comment, and also was not able to address where the investigation stood.
The "sign-for-pay" scandal first broke out on ESPN.com, when several reports indicated that autograph dealers claimed that Manziel accepted payment for signing more than 4,000 memorabilia items, including photgraphs and footballs. The said network also visited the College Station campus, and it was revealed that the university administration had been debating if Manziel should sit or not. However, Texas A&M chancellor John Sharp questioned ESPN's reporting and upheld Manziel's innocence last week.
In the meantime, though, there seems to be an informal gag order on coaches and players alike.
"The focus of our coaches and student-athletes is solely on preparing for Rice ... and in the best interests of Texas A&M and the 100-plus student-athletes on the team, I have instructed Coach Sumlin, his staff and our student-athletes to refrain from commenting on or answering questions regarding the status of our starting quarterback, Johnny Manziel," Texas A&M athletic director Eric Hyman said in a statement.
Whether or not the first freshman Heisman winner is good to go, though, should be known in the days leading up to Saturday.