Missouri HC Gary Pinkel: Johnny Manziel is a 'very, very impressive player'

On Saturday, the Missouri Tigers have the tough task of doing something that several teams have failed to do: stop Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel. The redshirt freshman is in the hunt for the Heisman Trophy for a season in which he became the fifth player ever to pass for more than 3,000 yards and rush for than 1,000 yards. Couple that production with a grueling SEC schedule and a win against then-No. 1 Alabama, and Mizzou coach Gary Pinkel, unsurprisingly, is impressed with Manziel:

"He's a redshirt freshman so he's been in their program for a year. He's a very, very impressive player. He's athletic, he throws the ball well and he's accurate. He can throw off balance, he's creative. When you watch film you wonder how he pulls stuff off but he does. He plays with a lot of confidence."

Pinkel's team will have to slow the redshirt freshman to earn an upset victory. While the main struggle for the Tigers, who have a 5-6 record, has been on offense, they've given up plenty of points to top teams as well. Of the four top 10-ranked teams Missouri faced in 2012, only Florida was unable to score more than 30 points.

The No. 9 Aggies rank sixth in the nation in points scored as Manziel has thrown for at least 250 yards in six consecutive games.