Is Tate Martell the next Johnny Manziel

Even before Tate Martell committed to Texas A&M, the inevitable comparison to Johnny Manziel was established. Both are undersized, and yet fantastically entertaining quarterbacks.

There are reasons for the comparisons that go beyond their size (Manziel is 6-foot; Martell 5-10), their college of choice and their similar names.

Manziel is a run-through-a-brick-wall competitor, as cocksure as they come. Just like Martell. Both can make magic on the field, prolonging broken plays and finding receivers downfield seemingly out of nowhere. Or, both can take off running for extra yardage, a skill that seems so much more natural than taught.

But Texas A&M fans believing Martell, from Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman, will be a mirror image of Manziel when he gets to town in a couple years, could be in for a big surprise.

"It's cool to be compared to somebody like that, who won a Heisman, and I appreciate the comparison, but I want to be my own player," said Martell, a class of 2017 four-star. "I've told everybody that. I want to do my own thing and be Tate Martell and not Johnny Manziel."

Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell said they are much different players, despite some similarities.

"They are definitely not alike at the same stage of development," Farrell said. "Johnny Manziel was much more of a freelancer and not considered at the time to be a quarterback prospect. He was a very good athlete and a guy who even worked out at wide receiver at some camps.

"Martell is a better passer. He has a better pocket presence. He sees the field better. Manziel was a better athlete and a better improviser."

As a sophomore at Gorman, Martell threw for 40 touchdowns and only two interceptions. In that same season at Kerrville (Texas) Tivy, Manziel had 11 passing TDs and five picks with 15 rushing touchdowns, although it's fair to say Martell had a more favorable offense.

In Gorman's 35-14 win over Chandler, Ariz., Saturday night, Martell threw two touchdown passes.

Martell did not even start in Gorman's first couple games last season, though. After the offense sputtered, however, the sophomore took over and never looked back.

He carved through the Anaheim (Calif.) Servite defense in Week 2 in superstar fashion and established himself as a top national recruit. Martell showed incredible savvy and an uncanny feel for the game, especially for a sophomore. Gorman won that game, 48-27.

From that point on, Martell and the Gorman offense were completely unstoppable. Gorman finished undefeated.

KEEP UP... because we aren't stopping for anyone this year! 🔶🔷 pic.twitter.com/B86ZZzVfqH- Tate Martell™ (@TheTateMartell) September 2, 2015

"The biggest thing is he has this certain charisma to him that you can't coach," said quarterback coach Steve Clarkson, who works with Martell in the offseason. "He has that 'it' factor. He has natural ability. He's a natural-born leader. He's one of the fiercest competitors I've ever been involved with.

"He's been told he can't do this, can't do that and they talk about lack of size, but what he brings to the table you can't measure. He plays a lot bigger than his size. Size is just not something that comes up when I speak to college coaches. They never bring it up. They just talk about what a dynamic football player, fierce competitor and incredibly creative player he is. They love his arm strength. You never see the ball fly off someone's hand the way it does at so many different angles. He can beat you in so many ways.

"I don't even think (Martell and Manziel) are close. I actually said he's such a unique player that I once said -- and I still believe this wholeheartedly because of his arm strength -- that he' s more of a cross between Fran Tarkenton and Brett Favre."

That is certainly high praise, but Martell proved last season that he is special. Yes, he is surrounded by high-level, national recruits. But he has unique qualities that cannot be learned by watching film or studying defenses. Those things are important, crucial, to a quarterback's development.

But Martell has something else, too.

There is a certain dynamic quality when watching Martell operate, like he has a sixth sense of when the pocket is collapsing or someone is coming from his blind side. He has a special knack to escape the pressure and then find an open receiver streaking down the field. He calmly makes big plays under serious pressure.

Height might be an issue with Martell, like it was with Manziel, but that stigma is also fading to a certain degree even in the NFL. There are a number of top quarterbacks in the league hovering around that 6-foot mark, but Farrell said that doesn't necessarily mean the league is completely transforming, either.

"It's a different era," Farrell said. "I know it's only been about five years (between Manziel and Martell), but it's a completely different time frame of football. If Johnny Manziel were in the 2017 class, he would be considered a quarterback and much more heavily recruited as a quarterback just because of all the vertically challenged quarterbacks who have done well.

"It's hard to predict where we're headed with this. We're certainly headed toward not discriminating anymore against size. Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees and Russell Wilson and Johnny Manziel, all these guys having success shows you don't need to be 6-foot-5 anymore."

But ...

"I don't think Johnny Manziel should have been a first-round draft pick though. There is no way," Farrell said. "It's hard for me to say Tate Martell is a first-round pick in the next five or six years. That's the reason he's not a five-star. It's the height."

Martell is the top-rated dual-threat quarterback and the No. 18 prospect overall in the 2017 class by Rivals.com. In stark comparison, Manziel was a three-star recruit who finished No. 14 at dual-threat quarterback and No. 45 in the Texas state rankings his senior year.

Looking back, Manziel had a surprisingly successful college career with the Aggies. He was the first freshman to ever win the Heisman Trophy. He became a first-round draft pick. He thrilled every week, in one way or another.

"At the same stage of their high school career if you told me Johnny Manziel was going to win a Heisman at quarterback and be a first-round NFL draft pick I would've laughed as loud as possible," Farrell said.

"If you tell me Tate Martell could be a Heisman quarterback and a first-round draft pick, I'm not laughing now."

Rivals.com West Recruiting Analyst Blair Angulo contributed to this story.