Johnny Football on a state title, Cleveland, the NCAA, Baker and more

Johnny Football wants back in, and he's got a lot to say along the way. Texas A&M legend and Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel has been out of the NFL for almost two full years since the Cleveland Browns cut him in March 2016, but he sat down with the Pardon My Take podcast this week after also doing an interview with Good Morning America and opening up about being diagnosed with bipolar disorder last year. Manziel has launched his #ComebackSZN brand of clothing and has a publicly stated goal of getting back on an NFL roster. This week's media tour has been the latest chapter of the comeback, and Manziel had plenty to say. Manziel rehashed many of his regrets off the field, but the first-round pick and Heisman winner's biggest regret on the field? "Still to this day, if there's one thing that I look back on that I would want more than anything, it would be to get a chance to at least play in the state game," Manziel said. He noted that it's especially true in today's era, when he can watch every Texas state title game from his home in Los Angeles or anywhere else around the country. Manziel's Kerrville Tivy team lost in the state semifinals in 2008 and 2009 and lost in the second round of the 4A-D1 playoffs in 2010. Future Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield was on the Lake Travis roster that ended Manziel's high school career, and Manziel addressed comparisons between the two, some of which Mayfield's been forced to answer as he prepares for this year's draft. "Me and Baker, I feel like, have a really cool friendship. He’s handling it the exact right way. We’re completely different people. We have a similar background. We’re both from Texas. We both played Texas high school football but he’s not me and I’m not him," Manziel said. "The way my wires are in my head and the way that I’m built and my makeup is completely different than Baker. Baker’s fiery as hell. He gets a little amped up on the sidelines. Once you’re on the football field and do some things that are a little outlandish—guys do that all the time. Was it a little too much? Sure. But at the end of the day, a guy made a mistake, he paid his dues and I think he’ll be better off because of it." "People can compare him to me, but he can learn from what I did wrong. He can try and take something I did and make it a positive for him and learn from it, at least that’s what I’d want for any young guy to see my situation and do." A few other highlights from Manziel's interview: -- He's still salty about getting a direct message on Twitter from Texas A&M Compliance, telling him he can no longer tweet at recruits. Earlier this month, he tweeted at Aggies targets Leon O'Neal Jr. and Jaylen Waddle, but later deleted them and tweeted that he'd no longer be able to make similar tweets. "What if I’m a fan of Texas high school football and this guy caught my eye and I just want to say what’s up? They said no, you can’t," he said. "I don’t really know what I can and can’t do. I guess they’re officially calling me like a booster or something like that. But I think they’re just full of shit to be honest. I think the NCAA is the biggest racket in the entire world." And he's still angry about the autograph saga that gripped his career and campus before the 2013 season. Asked how much he hates the NCAA, he said "On a scale of 1-10, probably like a 12." "They tried to end me. They tried to really ruin my college career." He said during the 2013 preseason camp, he spent five to six hours a day meeting with lawyers and advisors to prepare for his meeting with the NCAA. He was ultimately suspended for the first half of Texas A&M's season opener. "Every day for three weeks, five or six hours a day, I did nothing but prep for this case and make sure they weren’t going to do to me what they’ve done to other people in the past," he said. "I just wasn’t going to let it happen." -- He also looked back on his career in Cleveland with regret. "I felt like I never really gave Cleveland a chance. I was negative about it in my own personal space and never really gave it much of a chance. I think I was pissed at the world, mad at where I got drafted, what position I got drafted and I think I felt a sense of entitlement," he said. "I felt I was owed to be drafted higher or go somewhere I wanted to go but in reality, I had no control over that." In his early days in Cleveland, Manziel said LeBron James took him under his wing and would periodically invite him over to play cards or watch a game. But for the first six or seven months in Cleveland, Manziel said he rarely went to Cavs games or practices and spent most of his time at home. But if the Browns were the NFL team who wanted to give him another chance, Manziel doesn't sound excited to make it happen. "We’ve been down that path. We’ve seen it. I don’t know what the benefit would be to go back down that and try and do it all over again," he said. "(Cleveland) did grow on me a little bit, but I think we’ve crossed that bridge and if anything, I think that bridge is still flaming a little bit." Manziel also apologized for what he called a "blatant disrespect" for his bosses.