Thursday at the McFerrin Center in College Station, Johnny Manziel was the main attraction. ESPN, the NFL Network and Fox Sports 1 were all set up with multiple analysts breaking down the mechanics, fashion, music and more that accompanied the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner's Pro Day.
President George H.W. Bush brought the First Lady and a pair of small dogs, and they joined 75 men from 30 NFL franchises in observing every move by the young man in the black number two jersey.
But when the show was over and the last few folks trickled out, it went back to being the domain of Kevin Sumlin's.
"There's very few times I can walk in here and not have much pressure on me," the Texas A&M head coach said with a laugh. "All the pressure was on the guys out here performing and these other guys out here taking notes and having to make decisions. Today was pretty easy for me."
Many of the decision-makers Sumlin referenced are his friends. He was a graduate assistant at Washington State University when Mike Zimmer was the defensive coordinator there. Zimmer's now the head coach of the Vikings.
Texans general manager Rick Smith is a also a friend of Sumlin's, and he met with Manziel after the quarterback threw at the Pro Day. If he tipped his hand as to what the Texans would talk about with dynamic playmaker, Sumlin wasn't saying.
"Everybody's looking for something different," Sumlin said. "Whatever their evaluation process is I'm not familliar with that. Rick and I talk about a lot of things, but he won't tell me everything."
The Texas A&M head coach, who held the same position at the University of Houston from 2008 to 2011, has also kept in touch with his former Cougars signal-caller in Case Keenum. He said the Texans quarterback is "chomping at the bit" to play again.
"I know he's eager to try and come back and show what he can do and we'll see what happens," Sumlin said. "For him to get that opportunity was a big deal and it was a learning experience for him."
Ultimately though, Sumlin spoke about looking forward to things getting back to normal at his school's practice facility. The music, famous vistitors and hundreds of media members won't be there checking out his Aggies the next time they practice.
"On a normal day, I'd be yelling and screaming to get all these people out of here," Sumlin joked. "I'm glad the fire marshall didn't show up. How's that?
