Johnny Manziel: How Does Texas A&M Star Compare with Past Heisman Winners?

Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel is one of many college football quarterbacks who have entered the Heisman Trophy debate because of his ability to make plays in both the passing and running games.

We have often seen these types of dual-threat quarterbacks do very well in Heisman voting, and a few of them have won the award over the last 20 years.

Let's compare Manziel to similar quarterbacks who have won the sport's most prestigious award.

Eric Crouch, Nebraska Cornhuskers

Crouch won the 2001 Heisman Trophy after leading Nebraska to the BCS national championship game following an 11-1 regular season. Unfortunately for the Cornhuskers quarterback, he did not play well in the title game, as the Miami Hurricanes dominated Nebraska to win the championship and finish undefeated.

Crouch may have been a better rushing quarterback than Manziel, but the freshman is a much better passer. Crouch scored 19 rushing touchdowns in 2001, which is the same total for Manziel this season.

However, the Aggies star threw for almost 2,000 more yards and more than three times the amount of passing touchdowns than Crouch during his Heisman-winning season.

Manziel had a better season in 2012 than Crouch did in 2001, but since the Nebraska star was a senior, voters were not hesitant to give him first place votes.

Tim Tebow, Florida Gators

When he won the Heisman Trophy in 2007, Tim Tebow put up incredible stats for the Florida Gators. He was also the first sophomore to ever win the award.

Tebow scored over 50 total touchdowns (32 passing, 23 rushing) that season and racked up 4,181 total yards through the air and on the ground.

Manziel doesn't have the same kind of resume as Tebow, but both players have performed very well in the SEC, which definitely makes their accomplishments more impressive.

Robert Griffin III, Baylor Bears

Robert Griffin III wasn't a college football superstar entering last season, but by the time the regular season had ended, he was a leading candidate for the Heisman Trophy.

Griffin finished the season with 4,293 passing yards and 699 rushing yards, along with 47 total touchdowns.

Not only did Manziel have similar success in both the passing and running games compared to Griffin, he played against better defenses from the SEC. Griffin benefited from being able to play against the many weak defenses in the Big 12 conference.

Manziel arguably has a better Heisman resume than Griffin did last season, which gives him a good chance to win the award.