Johnny Manziel missed his celebrity guest picker appearance on College GameDay ahead of Texas A&M vs. the Miami Hurricanes. The contest was part of the first round of the college football playoffs. The event occurred on Saturday, Dec. 20.
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Manziel has now broken his silence following his no-show.
"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.
Manziel then went on to apologize to the on-air staff, whom he had let down by not appearing.
"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."
Oklahoma City Thunder guard and two-time NBA champion Alex Caruso stepped in as Manziel's replacement.
A "Sudden" Illness Reportedly Struck Johnny Manziel
According to The Daily Mail, Manziel's no-show was on account of him being struck by a "sudden" illness.
"However, The Daily Mail can now reveal that Manziel was struck down by a sudden illness just hours before College GameDay aired," the report reads. "The Aggies icon was in fact 'medically unable to travel due to illness' from Miami to Texas, a representative for Manziel confirmed to The Daily Mail."
According to the source, Manziel was in fact on the way to the airport before his illness worsened. As such, his team played a role in looping in Caruso to take his spot.
'His team worked to connect ESPN and Bleacher Report with Alex to ensure a smooth transition on the show, and he appreciates everyone's understanding under the circumstances,' his representative added.
Manziel will likely shed additional light on the incident once he's back to full health. Fortunately, his absence didn't derail the pregame programming. The Miami Hurricanes ended the day on a high note, defeating Manziel's Texas A&M 10-3.
