Heisman Trophy 2012: Johnny Manziel becomes 1st freshman to ever win award

Collin Klein was considered the lock for the 2012 Heisman Trophy just a few weeks ago, Now the Kansas State quarterback will have to settle for third behind Texas A&M freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel and Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o. With his win announced over the weekend, Manziel became just the first freshman to win the award in the storied Heisman Trophy history.

"That barrier's broken now," Manziel said. "It's starting to become more of a trend that freshmen are coming in early and that they are ready to play. And they are really just taking the world by storm."

Manziel took the college football world by storm with a stellar season capped by a late season victory over the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide, giving Nick Saban's team their only loss on the season thus far. In doing so, Manziel's stock went national and the win catapulted him to the top of the Heisman talk.

"I have been dreaming about this since I was a kid, running around the backyard pretending I was Doug Flutie, throwing Hail Marys to my dad," said Manziel about the award.

With 24 passing touchdowns and 19 rushing touchdowns, Manziel had the numbers that no one could argue with despite failing to finish on a top team.

"You can put his numbers up against anybody who has ever played the game," said Manziel's coach Kevin Sumlin.