"Johnny Football" to win the Heisman Trophy?

(CBS News) The Heisman Trophy, college football's highest award, will be given out Saturday night in New York. The frontrunner could make history because this is his first NCAA season.

In his freshman season, Johnny Manziel's freewheeling style has set records, beaten the nation's top team, and created a nickname for the ages at Texas A&M: "Johnny Football."

Manziel said, "I don't really see myself as the Johnny Football craze that has swept around Aggieland and around the nation a little bit. I just see myself as Johnny Manziel the guy out of Kerrville, Texas."

The kid from Kerrville has sparked a football frenzy in football-crazy Texas. At Aggieland Outfitters, Manziel's number two jersey is No. 1 in sales. Dallas Shipp, marketing director of Aggieland Outfitters, said, "Right now we've got a wait list them because we've had so many people. We are trying to print them as fast as we can. But you know, just bear with us and we'll get everyone a shirt that wants one."

On YouTube, Manziel's legend is celebrated in song with a country music song, a rap song, and another song that parodied "Johnny Angel." Before it was deleted by YouTube for copyright claims, the parody garnered more than 140,000 hits.

One high school student, 17-year-old Chris Chavez, of Kerrville, had his barber sculpt Manziel's portrait into his hair. His school sent him home until the face and logo were removed.

But Manziel backs up the frenzy with stats that make him the favorite to become the first freshman in history to win the Heisman as college football's top player. The red-shirt freshman set a single-season Southeastern Conference record, racking up 4,600 yards in total offense -- better than previous Heisman winners, Cam Newton (4,327 yards) and Tim Tebow (4,181 yards).

The Aggies were the only team to defeat defending national champion Alabama. But some Heisman voters may not like the idea of handing off the award to a freshman. Brian Jones, a CBS college football analyst, said, "These guys, these voters, for some reason they abhor voting for freshmen. I don't understand that."

But part of his mystique is that he is only a freshman. Jones said, "He would be the winner on my ballot. He has just captivated the whole landscape of college football. He has everyone mesmerized."

Manziel can scramble on the field -- and off, dodging the big question: will he win the Heisman? "It would be a dream come true for me to even be able to go to the Heisman ceremony," Manziel said.

When the Heisman's winner is announced tomorrow night, "Johnny Football" may score one more time.

For Mark Strassmann's full report, watch the video above.