Browns' Manziel admits Super Bowl goal

The Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND

Quarterback Johnny Manziel has already endeared himself to the Dawg Pound.

In an interview with the John McClain of the Houston Chronicle and Charean Williams of the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, the Texas A&M star said he’d be thrilled to land in Cleveland. Manziel made it clear he ideally wants to be selected No. 1 overall, but said he’d be very happy to become a Cleveland Brown. Manziel said he’d like to help turn around the Browns’ losing record.

“If something happens and it’s the Cleveland Browns, I’m going to pour my heart out for the Dawg Pound and try to win a Super Bowl for Cleveland,” he said. “I don’t care if they’ve had 20 starting quarterbacks since 1999. I’m going to be the 21st and the guy that brought them the Super Bowl.”

But Manziel stressed his first priority is to go to the Texans with the No. 1 overall pick and that he’ll make them pay if he lets them fall to their AFC South rivals Jacksonville at No. 3.

“It would be the worst decision they’ve ever made,’’ he said. “I’d be in the same division playing against them twice a year. Sorry, but you just turned that chip on my shoulder from a Frito into a Dorito.”

Working out in San Diego with quarterback guru and Northeast Ohio native George Whitfield Jr., Manziel is pulling out all the stops to make sure the Texans can’t say no to him at No. 1.

“I want them to say absolutely, without a doubt, with 100 percent certainty that I’m who they want,” he said. “I want everybody from the janitor at Reliant Stadium to the front office executive assistant all the way up to (owner) Bob McNair to say, ‘This kid is 100 percent, can’t miss. This is who we want being the face of our program. We want the Texas kid staying in Texas and leading the Texans.”

“If something happens and it’s the Cleveland Browns, I’m going to pour my heart out for the Dawg Pound and try to win a Super Bowl for Cleveland.”

Manziel put the full-court press on Texans new coach Bill O’Brien, the former Patriots offensive coordinator, to draft him.

“If that’s the situation, I’m going to go in there and be the first guy learning with Bill O’Brien,” Manziel said. “The best thing about me over the past couple of years is I’ve had great relationships with my position coaches and with my head coach.”

“They’re a team I’ve watched every year since I was a kid,” Manziel said. “I want to be the No. 1 pick. It’s something I’ve dreamed about. With the pieces they already have in place, I could fit in. I’m a Texas kid. The state means a lot to me.”

Manziel, who’s undergoing rigorous drills with Whitfield Jr. that include throwing in the ocean, having beanbags thrown at him while he throws and tossing with a blindfold on to clapping receivers, hopes to show the world that he’s matured from the kid who gained a reputation as a notorious party boy and who’s had brushes with the NCAA.

“I was a kid who made some goofball decisions,” he said. “That’s been part of my journey. Maybe it’s part of the whole Johnny Football deal that I’m trying to get away from.”