Johnny Manziel Breaks Silence on 'College GameDay' Drama
Aggie legend Johnny Manziel was supposed to serve as the guest picker on ESPN College GameDay Saturday ahead of Texas A&M's College Football Playoff game against Miami (Fla,) on Saturday. Instead, the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner was a late scratch for undisclosed reasons, replaced by NBA guard and fellow A&M alum Alex Caruso.
On Sunday, Manziel addressed his absence, offering up a partial explanation and promising to say more at a later time.
'It was out of my control'
In a lengthy statement released on his Instagram story, Manziel attempted to provide some context on what happened.
"I will have plenty more to say about what transpired yesterday. There is almost nothing on this earth that would have made me miss that game. To all the people that genuinely reached out and checked in on me I cannot thank you enough," Manziel wrote.
Manziel didn't provide further details but went on to say he was "recovering" from something and offered apologies to a number of parties.
"To ESPN, Pat (McAfee), Coach (Nick Saban), Desmond (Howard), and the entire crew on GameDay, I apologize it was out of my control," he said. "To the Aggies and A&M fan base, I'm sorry. I will continue to let everyone out there run with a fake narrative and at the end of the day, perception always wins over reality. I love all of you who genuinely support me through (the) good and bad like you've all done for years. I have no doubt Texas A&M and the Aggie football program will be in that position again. I'm recovering and feeling about a 3/10, going to rest up and try to and get back to normal."
Manziel is no stranger to College GameDay, having served as guest picker for Texas A&M's 2024 season opener against Notre Dame. USA TODAY reported that the former NFL first-round pick was seen at the Jake Paul-Anthony Joshua Fight in Miami Friday night.
Texas A&M's season ends
The No. 7 seed, Texas A&M's first College Football Playoff appearance in program history was a short one.
The Aggies lost 10-3 to the 10th-seeded Hurricanes, who moved on to face No. 2 seed Ohio State in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 31.