Amid Johnny Manziel's NCAA controversies, recalling Mike Evans and Manziel's electrifying CFB careers at Texas A&M

The latest Netflix documentary on Johnny Manziel unpacked a lot about the former college football star's career. Among other things, the documentary touched on Manziel's breach of an NCAA rule and how he got away with it.

When Manziel played college football, the NCAA forbade athletes from earning money. Although that rule has changed, Manziel ran foul of it back then by selling autographs and could have been severely sanctioned. But he got away with it by planting a story about his family's oil wealth.

While Johnny Manziel's great-great-grandfather did indeed make a fortune from oil, almost nothing of it remained for his dad to inherit. So it was simply a ruse to throw the NCAA off his trail. But that's just one way to remember Manziel's college football career.

There are other ways to remember it. There's his Heisman Trophy win for instance. And there's also his terrific partnership with wide receiver Mike Evans.

Reliving Johnny Manziel and Mike Evans' college football career

Johnny Manziel and Evans enrolled at Texas A&M in the same year, 2011. While Manziel was a quarterback, Evans' role required him to catch passes. A partnership was born. But not immediately. The duo redshirted their first year in college and would only get a taste of college football action in the 2012 season.

AT&T Cotton Bowl - Texas A&M v Oklahoma

Their partnership propelled the Texas A&M Aggies to an 11-2 record and a bowl victory against the Oklahoma Sooners in the 2012 season. While Manziel threw for 3,706 yards and 26 touchdowns, Evans had 82 receptions over 1,105 yards for five touchdowns.

Johnny Manziel and Mike Evans' freshman season at Texas A&M

The highlights of their freshman season include the historic 29-24 upset against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Tuscaloosa. Evans was particularly outstanding, recording three games with at least 100 receiving yards.

While Manziel went on to claim the Heisman Trophy among other accolades, Evans was included in the Freshman All-SEC honors. He went on to have an even better sophomore season, setting the school record for receiving yards against Alabama and breaking the same against Auburn. He was a first-team All-SEC selection in his sophomore campaign.

After their sophomore season, Manziel and Evans took the same career path again as they both declared for the NFL draft. Unsurprisingly, they both got drafted in the first round.

However, their careers have each taken different turns from that point. Evans is still playing in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after nine successful seasons while Manziel got cut by the Cleveland Browns after just two seasons. He never made it back to the NFL.