NFL Notes: Johnny Manziel, UCLA, Bears, & Patriots

Johnny Manziel

Browns QB Johnny Manziel was involved in an incident Saturday at the Byron Nelson Classic in Irving, Texas.

“There was a kid — I’ll call him a kid, he was 18 — at the pool area,” Irving public information officer James McLellan told ESPN. “The kid had been asking [Manziel] for a couple hours for his autograph, and he wouldn’t give it to him.

“That turned into badgering on the kid’s part, and it reached the point where Johnny Manziel threw a bottle of water at the kid. I don’t know if it hit him. I guess I would say that ramped it up a bit.”

A Browns source mentioned that Manziel should not be held responsible for obnoxious fans who approach him aggressively. ESPN’s source added that this really is a “non-story.”

UCLA

UCLA HC Jim Mora Jr said that he’s modeling his program after an NFL franchise in the hope making the school an NFL pipeline.

“You could tell by the structure of a place, the way they practiced, the way they dealt with you as a pro coach, their level of professionalism, what you were dealing with,” Mora said, via ESPN.com

“There’s really only one way I’ve ever done it, which is an NFL way,” Mora said, “so I operate with that in mind, still being cognizant of the fact that I’m dealing with younger athletes. I try to teach them professional ways to do things.”

“It’s a real advantage for them to be in an environment that’s operating at a professional level with professional coaches, because every kid that comes here on scholarship has that dream in their head, that, ‘I want to go to the NFL,‘” Mora added. “We know very few of them will, but you still want to afford them that opportunity and teach that.”

Bears

• Bears OLB Lamarr Houston has yet to be cleared to return to the practice field after he sustained a torn ACL back in October of last year. (Chicago Tribune)

Patriots

• Despite the Patriots’ limited depth at cornerback, Devin McCourty has continued to work at free safety, at least in the OTA practices open to the media. (Karen Guregian)