Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
With all the talk about a suspension for Johnny Manziel, one of the options has always been a partial-suspension. Now it appears that a ‘plea’ type of deal could be a real option for the Heisman trophy winner. John Infante, a former university compliance officer, says that the NCAA could offer Manziel a reduced suspension in exchange for information. Basically, Manziel would have to come clean to a point.
Here’s how Infante sees this working (in theory):
“You can say (Manziel) ‘admitted to it, he gave us information and helped the larger effort, so we wanted to send the message that we were rewarding him’ for helping.”
Many, including Infante, have speculated that Manziel could receive at two-game suspension, which would allow him to return for the all-important showdown with Alabama.
I’m not sure Johnny Football is going to accept any plea deal. He’s already lawyer’d up and if he did the alleged signings in the right way (for cash only), he really has nothing to worry about. Furthermore, I’m not convinced the NCAA wants to bust him. He’s their top guy and by far the biggest star in the sport right now.
But if push came to shove and Manziel had the option to accept a reduced suspension or not play at all, I’m guessing that he would take the plea. Of course there is another camp completely, that thinks he doesn’t care if he plays this year or not…
I’m still betting on ‘no suspension’ as the most likely outcome from this whole ordeal.
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