Johhny Manziel is a polarizing figure, as is Barry Switzer. So when you get Switzer sharing his opinions on Mr. Manziel, you should expect some fireworks. He started by totally ripping him:

“I’m gonna tell you. I said Johnny Manziel is … I don’t like his antics. I think he’s an arrogant little prick,” Switzer said. “I’ve said that and I’ll say it again. He’s a privileged kid, he’s embarrassed himself, he’s embarrassed his teammates, his program. He’s embarrassed his coach. And they’ll all have to defend him because they have to coach. I know that. I spent 40 years in the damn game so I know how it works.”

But true to Swtizer form, you get the other side as well, as he goes on to say, “He’s the best I’ve seen. I’ve never seen a quarterback in college football take control of a game like he does and put up the numbers he does. It’s fantastic what he’s done against good competition. Game after game after game the numbers he puts up are staggering” SWitzer addresses all of the on-field magic that Manziel is able to create.

So in his own way, Switzer sums up the big arguments around Manziel. There are personal concerns, and then there’s the performance on the field. He finishes by saying, “He’s the most dominant, most dynamic college quarterback I’ve ever seen.”

But that still begs the question of how good he can be in the NFL. There are tons of great college quarterbacks who don’t translate to the NFL. The key with Manziel is his ability to make qick decisions and throws in the pockets, and his ability to improvise. They other key is that in the NFL he’ll have to pull back on the running, as he can get crushed out there. Predicting what he will do in the NFL is about as easy as predicting the outcome of an NFL bingo game or Butlersbingo as he has so much talent but now will be facing much tougher defenses.

One key will be where he goes. We’ve seen coaches and the system have a big impact on the success of a quarterback. If you get a coach that can harness his quick decision-making and convince him to be careful in how often he runs with the ball as opposed to scrambling, we might have a superstar on our hands.