Former College Stars Masoli and Manziel Fighting for Starting QB Job in CFL

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When Johnny Manziel announced that he had signed with the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats and would be doing a Barstool Sports podcast called Comeback SZN, it made national headlines.

https://twitter.com/stoolpresidente/status/997848828731707392

His story is fairly remarkable. He went from the glory boy, the most famous/infamous player in college football at Texas A&M, to an outright train wreck seemingly overnight. His partying spiraled to the point where those close to him feared he would die. His natural talent couldn’t bail him out of nasty situations in the NFL as it did it college. He was missing mandatory meetings and training sessions. He was blowing through his money at an alarming rate. A domestic abuse allegation was the last straw (though a settlement was agreed to in December). The Cleveland Browns were done with him. He was out of the league.

By May of 2016, he looked as close to death as he did life.

In January of 2017, he finally admitted he needed help. He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and sought treatment for alcoholism. From all indications, he’s been sober ever since, and he’s spoken publicly about his mental challenges.

This is from an interview on Good Morning America:

“You are left staring at the ceiling by yourself and in that depression and back in that dark hole of sitting in a room by yourself, super depressed, thinking about all the mistakes you made in your life. What did that get me? Where did that get me except out of the NFL? Where did that get me? Disgraced.” -Johnny Manziel on GMA

It’s been over 850 days since he has played in an NFL game.

So, when he signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, people, the ones who have forgiven his transgressions, were excited to see the next step on his journey back to the NFL and follow it on an intimate level through the podcast.

There’s just one thing standing in his way: Jeremiah Masoli.

Masoli’s path to the CFL, in some ways, mirrored Manziel’s.

Utilizing his strong, accurate arm and shifty running abilities, Masoli rose to prominence in the early days of Oregon’s rise to power. Starting the 2008 season as the third string, injuries propelled him into a starting role, where he passed for 1,744 yards with 13 touchdowns and five interceptions to go with 718 rushing yards and 10 more scores.

In 2009, Chip Kelly took over the Oregon gig, and Masoli’s talents were unleashed in new and exciting ways. As a junior, Masoli completed 177-of-305 passes for 2,147 yards with 15 touchdowns to six interceptions, and he added for 13 more touchdowns on the ground. In the process, he led the Ducks to a Pac-10 title and Rose Bowl appearance.

Oregon was looked at as a national title contender with Masoli at the helm heading into the 2010 season, but that dream ended for him before it ever truly began.

In January of 2010, Masoli and a teammate were identified in a burglary, leading to his suspension by Chip Kelly for the whole season. An arrest for marijuana during his probationary period spelled the end for Masoli at Oregon, leading him to transfer to Ole Miss for his final year to play under Houston Nutt.

If you didn’t watch Ole Miss during this period, it’s hard to explain just how dire things were. Nutt took the Rebels to back-to-back Cotton Bowls (for the first time in 50 years!) with Ed Orgeron’s players and failed to refill the cabinet, but people didn’t know that quite yet.

When Masoli transferred in, people were hoping he would be the piece to help them contend for an SEC title.

But fans quickly realized that wouldn’t be the case when the Rebels lost to Jacksonville State, their first loss to a FCS team in school history.

The Rebels ended the season with a 4-8 record, and despite throwing 13 interceptions (most of which came in desperate situations), Masoli was the only thing holding them together. He threw for 2,039 yards with 14 touchdowns and rushed 121 times for 544 yards and six touchdowns. He was sensational at times and deserved better than he got from the fans.

A once-promising college career (with even whispers of Heisman contention) ended, and Masoli was left to sign on as an undrafted free agent with San Fran, which led to nothing. He was drafted in the eighth round of the UFL draft to the Omaha Nighthawks the net year before signing on with the Edmonton Eskimos for a year, which he missed due to an injury.

In 2013, Edmonton traded Masoli to Hamilton, where he toiled away for two seasons before being thrust into action in the 2015 season due to injuries to the first and second string QBs, much like he was in Oregon all those years ago.

Masoli played well, and since starter Zach Collaros was still on the mend, he was allowed to start the season as the starter. In that time, he completed 230-of-332 passes for 2,695 yards with 15 touchdowns to 12 interceptions and added in six more rushing touchdowns, but Collaros was cleared to come back for the ninth game and regained the position.

In 2017, seven years since he was last the full-time starter of a team, Jeremiah Masoli was named the starter for the foreseeable future of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats when offensive guru June Jones was named the head coach eight games into the season.

Masoli was electric and efficient in Jones’ offense, going 249-of-391 through air for 3,177 with 15 touchdowns to only five interceptions, adding 446 yards and four scores on the ground.

After the season, Masoli signed a 2-year extension, giving him the most stability and optimism for success he’s had in a long while.

Now, Manziel wants the spot that Masoli fought so hard for so long to earn.

But it won’t just be handed to him.

June Jones loves what Masoli brings to the table:

Let me tell you something right now, he’s got his work ahead of him to beat out Jeremiah. He’s got a lot to catch up on, but he’ll spend the time to get that done. I know he will because he’s already learned that lesson.

In a June Jones offense, both Masoli and Manziel have the necessary tools to thrive, so it’s coming down to talent, familiarity in the offense, and pure determination.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I’m pulling for Masoli in this battle. He made a miserable sports year of mine tolerable, and that wasn’t easy to do. He did everything he could to win games for the Rebels when it seemed like no one else cared, and I’ll always hold him in high regard because of it.

And to be honest, I was iffy at first on Manziel and whether or not his turnaround was entirely genuine or an attempt to get one over on people and regain the spotlight, but he sold me on his appearance on Pardon My Take.

Life has a funny way of humbling people and breaking them down before allowing them to regain their footing. Who would have ever thought we’d have a QB controversy between Manziel and Masoli in Canada? More importantly, who would have thought we’d get it when they were at their most boring, stable states?

Redemption.

It’s what Masoli has found and Manziel actively seeks.

Fate has pitted the two of them together, yet in a twisted way, only one can attain the absolution and glory that they actively pursue.

As of now, Manziel is the backup:

https://twitter.com/AllbrightNFL/status/1004773404505985026

But for the first time in a long time, people are pulling for him, as I’m doing for Jeremiah Masoli, and the CFL has never felt more relevant, making this a monumental win for everyone.