'Johnny Football' has chance to live up to nickname

This time, Johnny Manziel promises, it's all about football.

The former college star and NFL washout is getting his second chance in the professional ranks after signing a two-year contract with the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

It's been nearly two-and-a-half years since Manziel last took a pro snap, his exile from football due in part to both his poor play with the Cleveland Browns and his many transgressions off the field. Now sober, medicated for a bipolar disorder, and married, Manziel insists he'll devote the appropriate time to his craft.

Of course, it was on the field where "Johnny Football" made his name. He set the SEC on fire and became the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy in 2012, then followed it up by throwing for 4,000 yards in 2013 and becoming a first-round draft pick.

He struggled in spot duty his rookie year, throwing just nine pro passes before getting two starts late in the 2014 season. He failed to throw for more than 80 yards in his four appearances.

After showing flashes early in 2015, by the midway point of the campaign, Manziel was given the chance to lead the franchise. Playing almost exclusively on instinct and guile, Manziel finished the year with 1,500 passing yards, seven touchdowns, five picks, and a passer rating of 79.4 after nine games and six starts.

The stats are hardly impressive, but were accomplished with almost no formal training.

"Guys are good in the NFL because they know film, they study hard, and they work even harder in the offseason. I didn't know that. If Cleveland did any of their homework, they would have known that I was a guy that didn't come in every day and watch film. I was a guy that didn't really know the Xs and Os of football," Manziel admitted on "The Dan Patrick Show" in April.

In his final tumultuous season in the NFL, Manziel was spotted partying during the team's bye week shortly after he was named the starter for the rest of the season, skipped meetings, and was discovered in a Vegas casino in disguise.

The Browns cut ties with him soon afterward.

Talent has never been the issue with Manziel, the last quarterback to record more than one victory in a season with the Browns.

His high-water mark remains a 372-yard passing day in November 2015 against the Steelers. He completed 33 of 45 passes, threw for one touchdown, and finished with a career-high 95.8 passer rating.

He also fumbled the opening snap, threw an interception, and was sacked six times that day in a 30-9 loss. It perfectly encapsulates his time in Cleveland: flashes of brilliance met with little team success.

Heading north for Act II should provide Manziel with his best opportunity for improvement.

He's joining a league that has never looked down on a player of his stature. Standing six feet tall, Manziel won't hear the usual talk of physical limitations that crops up in the NFL, and the wider, longer field will allow more room for a mobile, scrambling quarterback.

If he can eliminate the distractions and accentuate the dynamic ability that made him the must-watch player in college, he'll be appointment viewing if he ever sees the field in the CFL.

Manziel has been through more than most 25-year-olds, all at his own doing. If he's truly dedicated to realizing his professional potential, sticking to football is a good start.