Another former NFL player has weighed in on Johnny Manziel; this time, it's former Chicago BearsPro Bowl linebacker Brian Urlacher.
Things we learned
From Johnny Manziel's controversial return to Washington's statement win, here are the 41 things we learned from the first weekend of college football play. **More ...**
Urlacher now is an analyst on "Fox Football Daily" on Fox Sports 1, and he was candid with his thoughts on the reigning Heisman winner.
"I'm not saying he's a punk, but he acted like a punk in that game," Urlacher said on the show Monday, the Los Angeles Times reported. " ... He's making plays out there and running around and running his mouth."
Urlacher also said Manziel is "such a good football player. You saw in the second half, what he did -- three touchdown passes and ran it pretty well. It's just too bad he had to act like that. I'm pulling for the guy. I want him to do well."
Manziel was suspended for the first half of the opening victory over Rice, then was benched in the fourth quarter after he was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin met Manziel when he was coming off the field after the penalty and had a few words for his quarterback. Manziel did not make eye contact and continued toward the bench. Numerous media folks went ballistic, saying Manziel disrespected his coach.
Sumlin, in turn, took a shot at those media folks Tuesday, saying, "He came off the field and I made two statements to him, neither one of which should he have responded to. They weren't questions. They were direct statements that I can't repeat right now. What amazes me is the perception that he ignored me. The worst thing that could have happened is for him to reply, based on what I told him."
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
