Well, That Was Fast – Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel Is Back on Twitter

Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel has gone from anonymous backup quarterback to worldwide superstar in the last calendar year. His Twitter game blossomed in the process, before coming to a screeching halt.

Instead of posting information and images of his life as a 20-year-old Heisman Trophy winner, Manziel chose to take a Twitter timeout last month in an effort to stay out of the spotlight and focus on spring practice.

Fair or not (and it's not), the redshirt sophomore quarterback had become a lightning rod for criticism for doing what pretty much everybody else would do in his position. 

"He's taking ONLINE CLASSES. Manziel's ego is too big for College Station."

"He's out of control."

Apparently he's lost control of his self-imposed Twitter timeout.

Manziel made his triumphant return to the Twitterverse early Friday morning with a flurry of tweets and pics for his 333,000-plus followers.

"

Don't hate the player hate the game #HA

— Johnny Manziel (@JManziel2) April 12, 2013"

Talk about announcing your return with authority. That isn't just a flashy catch phrase, it's a statement to his critics.

I'm sure this picture will be over-analyzed.

Just stop.

Do you know who also takes pictures with celebrities when they meet, parties in New Orleans at Mardi Gras and is proud when winning big while gambling at a casino? Other people, including college students.

Welcome back to Twitter, "Johnny Football." Don't let the critics win. Taking a Twitter timeout was probably the right move from a public perception standpoint given the time and place, and it hopefully allowed reality to set in for Manziel's critics.

He's back now. Hopefully for everybody's sake, he'll be better than ever.

Follow @BarrettSallee