College Gameday host Rece Davis addressed Johnny Manziel failing to show up for duty when the ESPN broadcast touched down at the former quarterback’s alma mater over the weekend.
Manziel, 33, was a no-show as the Gameday celebrity guest picker before the College Football Playoff game between Texas A&M and Miami on Saturday, December 20. Without any explanation, Manziel — who won the Heisman Trophy at Texas A&M in 2012 — was replaced by NBA star Alex Caruso.
Based on his social media behavior, Manziel had been partying hard the night before at the boxing match between Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, leading some viewers to connect the dots with Manziel’s abrupt television absence the following morning.
“When you go to a fight like that, you’ve got to be very careful about where you eat breakfast the next morning,” Davis, 60, said Tuesday, December 23, on the “College Gameday” podcast. “Because it can leave you ill and give you difficulty in reaching the locals where you are scheduled to be.”
He added, “But I digress … I just wondered. Is that what the kids are calling it these days? A ‘bad breakfast?’ Anyway, wouldn’t cast dispersion anywhere. For those that follow closely, you’ll be able to read between the lines there. You have to follow a little closely.”
Davis didn’t specifically name Manziel during his rant, but the implication was clear.
Manziel broke his silence about his College Gameday vacancy on Sunday, December 21, the day after the broadcast.
“I will have plenty more to say about what transpired yesterday,” Manziel wrote in a statement shared via his Instagram Stories. “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 think you enough.”
Manziel shouted out College Gameday cohosts Pat McAfee, Nick Saban and Desmond Howard and “the entire ESPN crew.”
“I apologize. It was out of my control,” Manziel added. “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 have all done for years,” he stated. “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.”
Manziel ended his post saying he was “going to rest up and try and get back to normal.”
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In a separate slide on his Instagram Stories, Manziel shared some DMs he had received from followers in the wake of him missing Gameday.
“Johnny. You actually can’t make this s*** up. Grow the f*** up and show up for s*** that matters, you F***ING CLOWN,” one wrote. “God, you have embarrassed our whole fanbase before our team even stepped foot on the field.”
Another wrote, “This is your fault. How the f*** can you not make it to A&M for a f***in playoff game.”
Texas A&M lost to Miami, 10-3, ending the Aggies’ season.
