Cleveland Browns: Johnny Manziel Maturing Like Few Thought He Could

Coming out of Texas A&M University, Johnny Manziel was seen as an egotistical, arrogant person whose style of play would not translate well to the NFL, where he would not be able to make big plays with his legs against NFL defenses.

In his first season in the NFL, he did nothing to change that perception. Actually, he exacerbated it. His rookie season was one to forget, as he spent most of it on the bench, and when he did finally get a chance to start, he left much to be desired.

The former Heisman Trophy winner failed to reach the 100-yard plateau in any game and finished the season with a 5.1 quarterback rating, according to ESPN.com.

Manziel then voluntarily entered a rehabilitation center to receive treatment.

However, if his first interview with reporters since then is any indication, he is a new person.

David Richard/Associated Press

The 22-year-old quarterback from Kerrville, Texas, made it a point to apologize for the trouble he has made for other people, specifically his teammates. Here is what he said via Pat McManamon of ESPN.com.

"

I feel bad about that today. I feel bad that throughout the last months of my life really thinking back and seeing how much of my life outside of this field and outside of this locker room was documented. It's not fair for [Browns cornerback] Joe Haden to answer questions about me every day. It's not fair for [Browns offensive tackle] Joe Thomas and all these guys to just continue to have questions asked about me. I don't think that's fair at all and I don't want that on them.

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He's even going out of his way to eradicate the "Johnny Football" persona from his life.

"I think it just overtook who I was as a person, too," Manziel said. "I think at times Johnny Football probably took me over a little bit, too, and I bought into that. 

"I think at times I welcomed it with immaturity and just accepted that a little bit. And that's my fault. At the end of the day everything that happened last year is not on anybody else but myself."

And surprisingly enough, he is even retiring his "money" gesture, a sign that added to his fame back in college.

"The money sign will not be back. I will not be making it," Manziel said via Fox Sports.

Now, Manziel's recent comments should not immediately cement him as an upstanding member of the NFL community. Anybody can say anything they want to reporters, whether they mean it or not.

Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

But for Manziel, it is certainly a step in the right direction. He is trying to turn his life around and fulfill his massive potential. 

Manziel has said all the right things up to this point, but he will still need to perform well on the field to truly change people's minds. 

For now, though, give Manziel some credit. He's starting over from scratch, and for the Browns' sake, maybe that means throwing for more than 100 yards in a game and making it through a season without injury.

"Last year is last year, it was what it was and it wasn't very good," Manziel said to Fox Sports. "So for me, I'm trying to close that chapter and just build on what I've done so far this year and just move forward, and try to close that chapter in my life. Not one that I'm very proud of, not one that I want to look back on very much and dwell on, that's for sure."