HOUSTON -- Former University of Texas and Oilers great Earl Campbell said he hopes to sit down with Johnny Manziel to help him change his path.
Campbell said a friend affiliated with Texas A&M asked him to speak with Manziel. Campbell also has reached out to Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin, and the two of them exchanged messages last week.
"We gotta get him some help," Campbell told ESPN. "I know everybody says that, but if you've never been there, how can you listen to someone? I think some former Heisman winners like myself, some Hall of Famers that have done it all, he should sit down and listen to what we have to say because we've been through it all."
Campbell and Manziel have the Heisman Trophy in common, but they were also from the same town of Tyler, Texas. Campbell went on to become a Hall of Fame running back with the Houston Oilers.
Manziel was a first-round draft pick by the Cleveland Browns, but has struggled to stay out of trouble since entering the NFL. Most recently, his ex-girlfriend Colleen Crowley accused him of hitting her, damaging her hearing in one ear and dragging her by the hair during an argument. Crowley also filed for a protective order.
"I'm like everybody else that lives in Texas," Campbell said. "I'm disappointed, I'm upset a little bit. But I think at some point, you have to say everybody was that age at one time and we have to get back to what's important.
"... I would tell him that I used to be 23 years old. At one point I had Texas in the palm of my hand as far as an athlete. At a very young age, my mother said it's not so important what you do now, it's what you do over your lifetime. Johnny's gonna be just like me eventually. He's going to sit down and have a chance to sit down and talk to people. Is he going to be remembered for [his problems] or is he going to be remembered for a guy that did like Von Miller. Got up off the carpet and did something about it."