After missing his planned Saturday appearance on ESPN’s College GameDay, Johnny Manziel has released a statement.
The 2012 Heisman Trophy winner was scheduled to be the flagship program’s celebrity guest picker before to start, with his alma mater Texas A&M Aggies against the Miami Hurricanes in the opening round of the 2025 College Football Playoff in College Station. But he failed to make it, and guard Alex Caruso, a former Aggie and current member of the Oklahoma City Thunder, took his place.
Due to Manziel’s attendance at the Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua bout on Friday in Miami, many speculated that Johnny had left ESPN during a late-night outing.
He wrote:
“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 l cannot thank you enough.
“To ESPN, Pat, Coach, Desmond, and the entire crew on gameday l 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 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 and get back to normal.”
Marcel Reed’s final-second interception caused A&M to lose to Miami 10–3. In the CFP Quarterfinals, the Hurricanes will now play the Ohio State Buckeyes.
