For the first time in its history the Heisman trophy has gone to a freshman. Johnny Manziel was chosen as the winner of the 2012 Heisman Trophy beating out Notre Dame’s Manti Te’o and Kansas State’s Collin Klein.
Manziel, the quarterback of Texas A&M, earned the nicknames ‘Johnny Football’ and ‘Johnny Heisman’ thanks largely to his role in the Aggies upsetting a then No. 1 ranked Alabama team.
In Manziel’s inaugural season in the SEC with the Aggies’, he finished with 3,419 yards and 24 touchdowns through the air and 1,181 yards and 19 touchdowns on the ground.
Manziel is just the second Texas A&M player to win the Heisman.
Had Te’o won the Heisman he would have been the first player to win it while playing only on defense. Klein was trying to become the first player from Kansas State to win the award.
