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COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Johnny Manziels NFL pro day had a former president, lots of swag, a Drake soundtrack and even some football, too. Kelvin Benjamin Jersey. The 2012 Heisman Trophy winner threw for 75 officials from 30 teams on the Texas A&M campus Thursday. He also had some special guests, as former President George H.W. Bush and wife Barbara -- and her two dogs -- rolled into the facility on golf carts about 10 minutes into the workout. The always flashy Manziel was true to his over-the-top Johnny Football persona, trotting into the facility with his receivers as a tune by his buddy Drake blasted through the building. He wore camouflage shorts, a black Nike jersey with his white No. 2 and caused a stir by wearing shoulder pads and a helmet. Manziel didnt understand why it was a big deal. "You play the game in shoulder pads on Sundays," he said. "Why not come out and do it? ... For me it was a no-brainer." Manziel threw about 65 passes to six receivers, including A&M teammate Mike Evans, who like Manziel is expected to be a first round pick in the May draft. Only two passes werent caught and Evans grabbed a third long pass out of bounds. "I felt like it was good," Manziel said. "(I) was obviously going for perfection. So had a couple balls hit the ground. One was on me. One was a little bit high. I couldve got it down for him a little bit." Quarterback guru George Whitfield ran the workout. Manziel has worked with Whitfield throughout his career and has spent a big chunk of the last 2 1/2 months working with him in California. Whitfield raved about his competitiveness. "This wasnt just merely a set of routes that he was just going to go through and throw," Whitfield said. "It just feels like ... life is riding on every pass with him." Eight NFL general managers and eight head coaches were among the group, including Texans general manager Rick Smith and coach Bill OBrien. Houston has the top overall pick in the draft. Smith and OBrien liked what they saw from Manziel, but both cautioned that this is just one step in a long process. "He made the throws that you look for and that you wanted to see so it was good," Smith said. "Its just a part of it and it was impressive." Manziel, who started at A&M for two seasons, planned to meet with several teams on Thursday afternoon after the workout. Several coaches were impressed that Manziel called all the NFL officials onto the field at the end of his workout to personally thank them for coming. "College Stations a little bit of a tricky spot to get to," he said. "For me to call those guys up, just wanted to speak on my behalf as well as the six guys behind me and thank them for coming out." Tampa Bay coach Lovie Smith, who grew up in Big Sandy, Texas, enjoyed seeing Bush at the event. "Thats a first, a workout with an ex-president," Smith said. "But they do things a little differently in Texas, which is a good thing, me being a Texan." Bush sat in his golf cart during the event and posed for pictures with dozens of people afterward. But Secret Service agents shooed away reporters looking to talk to the 41st president. Manziel said he didnt notice when Bush came in. "No," he said. "I was trying to go 65 for 65." Several more Drake songs played after his introductory one and he looked loose during the workout, at times bobbing his head, covered in the matte black helmet, to the beats. There was a brief hitch in the playlist, though. When he began the workout the explicit and expletive-laden versions of the songs were played. When the 89-year-old Bush entered the building, the soundtrack quickly switched to an edited version of the same songs. He worked under centre, making throws of all distances, on the run and in the pocket. Whitfield added some challenges to the workout, waving a broom and chasing him with it on several throws. "We wanted to show that we didnt have anything to hide, that we could come out here and go through our seven-step footwork and go through all the footwork that we thought that these guys want to see," Manziel said. He finished the day with a long completion to Evans and yelled Boom! and the assembled crowd broke into applause. Whitfield was pleased with how the day went and thinks Manziel has improved since the end of the season. "He learned how big of a jump it is to go from playing on Saturdays to playing on Sundays and its a grueling process," Whitfield said. "Secondly hes come an awfully long way in his body. Hes an awful lot stronger. Hes put in his work." Panthers Sam Mills Lights Out Jersey . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Marc-Andre Fleury, Penguins (3) - Surrendered a tough first goal against on a deflection through the body short side. Panthers Luke Kuechly Black Jersey . -- For two teams that only face each other twice a year, Sacramento and Boston sure played like longtime rivals.ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Maryland had just marched 99 yards to take a fourth-quarter lead, and it was up to Marshall to either respond or succumb. "These kids never flinched," coach Doc Holliday said. "The one thing I like about this group is that it didnt matter." With standout quarterback Rakeem Cato leading the way, the Thundering Herd scored two touchdowns in the final 12 minutes to pull out a 31-20 victory Friday. Cato went 28 for 44 for 337 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. The most notable part about his performance was that he saved the best for last. Marshall (10-4) trailed 20-17 before Cato brought them back. After directing a 63-yard march to put Marshall up 24-20 with 12:05 left, Cato clinched it with an 8-yard touchdown throw to Gator Hoskins with 3:42 to play. Cato had a brilliant season before this game, throwing for 3,579 yards and 36 touchdowns. But this performance -- on a national stage against an Atlantic Coast Conference foe -- served as the perfect finish. "I tell the guys all the time, Big-time players make big-time plays in a big-time game, and this was a big-time game," Cato said. He had plenty of help. Hoskins had six catches for 104 yards and two scores, Tommy Shuler caught nine passes for 68 yards and a touchdown, punter Tyler Williams pinned the Terrapins inside the 10 four times, and Marshalls underappreciated defence played a huge role. Maryland (7-6) scored only one touchdown after halftime, and A.J. Leggett followed Catos final TD pass with an interception to set off a celebration among the huge gathering of Marshall fans among the crowd of 30,163. "Its a great way to send the seniors out," Holliday said. Making its first bowl appearance under third-year coach Randy Edsall, Maryland closed out its association with the ACC by falling to the runner-up in Conference USA. The Terrapins will join the Big Ten next year. Despite the loss, Maryland had its first winning season since 2010 and finished with more victories than in Edsalls first two years combined. "I think this season really helped us as we leave the ACC and enter the Big Ten," Edsall said. Brandon Ross rushed for 116 yards for Maryland, and C.J. Brown went 14 for 24 for 197 yards. Although the Terrapins amassed 391 yards, they converted only two of 14 third-down tries. "We kept hurtting ourselves with penalties, little things that were not helping us on first and second down which were creating unmanageable third downs," Brown said. Panthers Sam Mills Youth Jersey. "There wasnt anything they did that we hadnt seen before." After a whirlwind first half that produced 30 points and 24 first downs, the teams settled into a defensive struggle in the third quarter. Each of the first four possessions ended in punts, but on the last one Marshall pinned the Terrapins on their own 1. In the same situation earlier in the game, Maryland ran three times for 2 yards and punted. This time, the Terrapins put together a 17-play drive that included a pair of fourth down conversions and lasted for 7 minutes, 44 seconds. The 99-yard march ended with a 2-yard pass from Brown to tight end Dave Stinebaugh, giving Maryland a 20-17 lead with 14:56 left. Marshall was quick to respond. Cato completed two third-down passes, and Essray Taliaferro ran in from the 7 to make it 24-20. "To be able to answer back like that was huge," Holliday said. Brown subsequently came up short on a third-and-5 bootleg, providing Cato the opportunity to put the game away. Although the Terrapins got the stop they needed, Cato came up big during the next series. After completing a 28-yard pass to Hoskins on third-and-11, Cato connected with Hoskins again in the end zone. It was Hoskins second touchdown of the game and 15th of the season, most in the nation for tight ends. Cato went 16 for 25 for 193 and two touchdowns in the first half to provide the Thundering Herd with a 17-13 lead. After pinning the Terrapins near their own goal line, Marshall went up 7-0 with a 37-yard drive that ended with Catos 1-yard touchdown pass to Shuler. Maryland tied it with a 29-yard touchdown throw from Brown to Levern Jacobs, but the Thundering Herd promptly regained the lead with a lengthy march that produced an 8-yard touchdown pass from Cato to Hoskins. After Maryland kicked a field goal, Marshall got one of its own for a 17-10 lead. Near the end of the half, Maryland moved 81 yards in 10 plays to set up Brad Craddock for his second field goal. On this day, the Terrapins needed touchdowns to overcome Cato and Marshalls formidable attack. "The problem we had was we got down there in the red zone and ended up kicking field goals," Edsall lamented. ' ' ' |
