Jan. 11, 2026, 11:47 a.m. CT
After missing his “College Gameday” appearance before the Aggies competed against the Hurricanes in the first round of the CFP, former Heisman-winning quarterback and Texas A&M legend Johnny Manziel explained his side of the story on his Glory Daze podcast.
According to Manziel, he missed the scheduled appearance as a guest picker due to a virus that made him sick the night before. He originally planned to attend with music artist Drake and watch Texas A&M take on Miami, but the illness prevented that.
Manziel played for the Aggies in 2012 and 2013, becoming the first-ever freshman Heisman winner and just the second player to win the award in program history. Here is the full clip of Manziel discussing the incident that led to his missed appearance.
While rumors ran rampant across social media when former Aggie basketball player Alex Caruso was named the guest picker in place of Manziel, he seemed to shut those down on the most recent episode of his podcast. Manziel was in attendance for multiple contests at Kyle Field in 2025, while also spending time with current Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed, who displayed much improvement this season at the helm and will return to play for the Maroon and White for his junior season.
The year didn’t conclude as the Aggies had wished, but head coach Mike Elko has led the program to historic heights in just his second season coaching in Bryan-College Station, Texas. Elko’s squad secured the school’s first 11-0 start since 1992 and its first playoff appearance in 2025.
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