Johnny Manziel's tall tale is far from complete

• Manziel receives more than half of the first-place votes and out-paces Manti Te'o by 323 points
• A redshirt freshman, Manziel set the SEC single-season total offense record with 4,600 yards
• Notre Dame's Te'o finished second, Kansas State's Collin Klein third, and USC's Marqise Lee third

NEW YORK -- A few moments after the TV show ended, a half dozen burly men wearing earpieces and dark suits gathered around Johnny Manziel. Like an offensive line – only with this group, made up of New York Police and private security, there was no way the Heisman Trophy winner could sprint off on his own – they spirited him out of the Best Buy Theater, moved quickly across 45th Street and, through a side door, into the lobby of the Marriott Marquis. From there, with an advance team clearing the way, they zig-zagged up escalators to a sixth-floor ballroom for a news conference.

For once, "Johnny Football" had been contained. For the first time, he seemed almost overwhelmed.

"I almost didn't believe it was real," said Manziel, describing the moment his name was called and he became the first freshman to win college football's most coveted prize. "It's such a far-fetched dream."

LOPRESTI:Manziel had the performances, and the position

When the Texas A&M quarterback beat out Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o and Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein for the trophy Saturday, he completed an improbable journey he described it as "a long, winding road," but various family members have called the whole thing a whirlwind – which seems appropriate for story that sounds like nothing so much as a tall tale:

A Texas high-school hero – do yourself a favor, search YouTube for Manziel and Kerrville Tivy – goes off to college, where if anything, the highlights only get more amazing. The accomplishments, too. Manziel is the catalyst in pulling a proud program out of mediocrity. And he went from unknown to name brand with a spectacular, swaggering unpredictability. It seems no one is ever sure what he's about to do.

That part hasn't changed.

Here, we should clear up at least one myth about everyone's favorite emerging legend. Sorry, but Johnny Football did not lasso a twister and ride it. Anyone who's watched the way he wreaked havoc on defenses and, sure, on the sensibilities of Heisman voters, understands the tale cannot be true.

Manziel is the twister.

But here's the thing: This ride is just beginning, and no one can be sure where it is headed – where Manziel is headed. As cool as the story is, the next question is: What comes now?

Four months ago, "Johnny Football" was a funny, but obscure nickname, bandied about on Texas A&M message boards and hurled playfully at Manziel by his A&M teammates. Now, it's a brand that must be protected. Aided by Texas A&M, the Manziel family has begun the process of trademarking the phrase. "We're protecting Johnny for the future," said his father, Paul Manziel. "If anybody should benefit off his name, it should be Johnny and nobody else."

In full-page advertisements purchased by Texas A&M and scheduled to run in USA TODAY and The New York Times, the message will be: "Call him Johnny Heisman." The background features several other plays on the original nickname: Johnny Athlete, Johnny Leader, Johnny Student … and so on.

It's cute stuff, and a good way to capitalize on the moment. But there's a danger here, too, that the brand gets overexposed. Paul Manziel, Johnny's father, believes the public will remain intrigued, even if the reasons are different. The attraction of "Johnny Football" will continue, he said, "because they'll want to see if it's a fluke."

"It's not a fluke," he added.

But as expectations grow, so does the pressure. How do you top this? In the news conference after winning, Manziel successfully deflected a question about his future (having won one Heisman, how about another few?), saying the next thing he hopes to bring back to Aggieland is a national championship. He's not exactly setting the bar low.

Standing just off the podium, Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin had to like the confidence, but he also understands the challenge. He was an assistant at Oklahoma when Jason White won the award as a junior in 2003.

"When it happens, your life is different," Sumlin said. "Jason White handled it very well. But he was a junior, and he was also 23."

Manziel turned 20 on Thursday. As a freshman, he turned the Southeastern Conference – and on Nov. 10, then-No. 1 Alabama – upside down. He set the league's record for total offense, led the Aggies to their finest season in years. Oh, and he's the newest owner of the most coveted statue in college sports. Someone asked him where he'll keep the Heisman.

"I'm not sure," he said. "I'd like to keep it next to my bed" – and here, he paused for the laughter – "but I'm in college. A lot of people come through the house. If I can get a lock for it, maybe."

How's life going to be as a sophomore, after all the success and sudden fame?

"What are you gonna do?" Sumlin said. "We're gonna have to manage it, just like everything else."

By all accounts, Manziel has handled the pressure well. It didn't hurt that he was prohibited from interviews until after the completion of the regular season (Sumlin doesn't allow freshmen to talk with reporters). In a strange way, it added to the growing mystique. And since Manziel began to talk, he has been saying all the right things.

That included his answers about an arrest last summer for disorderly conduct and presenting false identification. "At the time, I didn't really know where I was gonna go from there," he said Saturday. "My fate was kind of up in the air." He thanked coaches and Texas A&M officials for setting him straight, called it a "dramatic mistake" and said it was "uncharacteristic."

"The incident has changed me," he said. "I think I'm a better person."

He handled those questions, and others that weren't as difficult, with charming grace and occasional humor. But from here on, he'll only get more questions, and higher expectations, and increased pressure. "I think it's gonna be hectic from now on," Paul Manziel said.

When the final interview was finished, the same group of burly security guys surrounded Johnny and escorted him from the ballroom into the sixth floor lobby, moving fast. Several dozen fans leaned over balconies on the floors above, yelling his name, but Manziel didn't look up. He just followed quietly. The doors closed, and Elevator E whisked him away to the 45th floor for a private reception with perhaps two dozen family members.

But there was no way to predict where he was headed.