Johnny Manziel issues statement on 'College GameDay' absence
- - Johnny Manziel issues statement on 'College GameDay' absence
John Leuzzi, USA TODAY NETWORK December 22, 2025 at 2:18 AM
0
Johnny Manziel has broken his silence after missing his celebrity guest picker appearance on "College GameDay" ahead of Texas A&M vs. Miami in the first round of the College Football Playoff on Saturday, Dec. 20.
In a post on his Instagram story on Sunday, Dec. 21, the former Texas A&M football star and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback issued a statement regarding his absence. Manziel was replaced by Alex Caruso.
REQUIRED READING: Who's in CFP quarterfinals? bracket, scores for College Football Playoff
"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 on Instagram.
"To ESPN, Pat (McAfee), Coach (Nick Saban), Desmond (Howard), and the entire crew on GameDay, I apologize it was out of my control. 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."
REQURIED READING: Miami surprises Texas A&M in CFP with defense, Malachi Toney touchdown
As previously noted by USA TODAY, ESPN quietly subbed in the Oklahoma City Thunder guard for Manziel an hour before the celebrity guest picker segment took place inside Kyle Field in College Station, Texas. It would have been Manziel's second appearance as the celebrity guest picker, with his first time coming in the 2024 season-opener between Texas A&M and Notre Dame.
The network did not provide any context on the switch in the guest picker. As noted by USA TODAY, Manziel was spotted at the Anthony Joshua vs. Jake Paul fight in Miami on Friday, Dec. 19.
No. 10 seed Miami upset No. 7 seed Texas A&M 10-3 on Dec. 20 to advance further in the College Football Playoff. After giving up the game's first touchdown in the fourth quarter, the Aggies attempted to tie the game on their final drive to force overtime, but Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed threw an interception.
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Johnny Manziel issues statement on 'College GameDay' absence
Source: “AOL Sports”
