Texas A&M Aggies former quarterback Johnny Manziel watches the between the Texas A&M Aggies and the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at FedExForum. Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
By Sean Keeley on

Johnny Manziel was a no-show on ESPN’s College GameDay on Saturday, where he was scheduled to be the guest picker before the College Football Playoff action.

Manziel was in Miami on Friday night for the Anthony Joshua-Jake Paul fight. The fight went six rounds, with Joshua knocking out Paul around midnight ET. That would have left Manziel little time to get from Miami to College Station for Saturday morning’s show, which began at 9 a.m. ET.

Former Texas A&M basketball player and two-time NBA champion Alex Caruso replaced Manziel at GameDay.

On Sunday, Manziel released an apology for missing the event. While he remained coy about the reasons for his no-show, he called out the “false narrative” that had taken hold in reporting and on social media regarding his absence.

“I will have plenty more to say about what transpired yesterday,” Manziel wrote in an Instagram story. “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. To ESPN, Pat, Coach, Desmond, and the entire crew on GameDay, I apologize; it was out of my control. To the Aggies and A&M fanbase, 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 done for years.

“I have no doubt Texas A&M and the Aggie football program will be in that position. I’m recovering and feeling about a 3/10, going to rest up and try and get back to normal. Much love.”

Manziel was also scheduled to work for Bleacher Report during Saturday’s game as a field-side correspondent. Bleacher Report announced earlier this week that Manziel would join the B/R No Huddle team live from Kyle Field at 10 a.m. ET on Saturday and continue working throughout the game. That role would have required him to be at Kyle Field for the same time slot as College GameDay anyway. Manziel was not present on the live pregame show, which featured Mike Golic Jr. and B/R contributor Ray G.

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.

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