Any coach set to face Johnny Manziel will have praise for him, and Duke coach David Cutcliffe is no different.
But Cutcliffe, whose Blue Devils will play Manziel and Texas A&M in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, has as strong a reputation for coaching quarterbacks as any coach in the college game. When he speaks about the position, ears should be open.
Still, his remarks about Manziel this weekend raised some eyebrows.
"Maybe the premier player of the last 25 years, if not more, in college football," Cutcliffe said of Manziel, according to newsobserver.com.
That span includes two pretty special passers who were coached by Cutcliffe long before they won Super Bowls: Peyton and Eli Manning. Cutcliffe was Peyton's offensive coordinator and position coach at Tennessee, and he was head coach at Ole Miss when Eli played for the Rebels. Cutcliffe also showed he could win without a future NFL star when he helped develop Tee Martin into a national championship quarterback at Tennessee the year after Peyton Manning departed.
Cutcliffe has seen it all -- and yet he says Manziel is unlike anything he's seen.
"Everybody is going to tune in to see Johnny Manziel, whether they're at a party or at their home, but there are going to be millions upon millions looking," Cutcliffe said. "We're all competitive. That's what you live for. You've got to be kidding me, Johnny Manziel -- that's how it hits our team. ... He truly is one of the more dynamic, if not the most dynamic player, over a long period of time in college football."
What could well be Manziel's final college game -- he is expected to declare early for the NFL draft in the coming weeks -- could be another yards-and-points bonanza for him. Duke's pass defense ranks just No. 70 in the nation, allowing 233 yards per game.
Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter @ChaseGoodbread.
