Johnny Manziel called out the “fake narrative” in an apology after missing ESPN’s College GameDay as the guest picker Saturday. Manziel would’ve been on set at his alma mater Texas A&M as they hosted Miami in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

“I will have plenty more to say about what transpired yesterday,” Manziel wrote on his 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 shared that statement after showing screenshots of DMs from fans to his Instagram account. The mostly contained NSFW messages that “blamed” Manziel for A&M’s loss Saturday and criticized him for not showing up to campus.

During the College GameDay broadcast, former Aggies basketball player Alex Caruso was promoted as the celebrity guest picker. Caruso played for Texas A&M from 2012-2016 before going undrafted.

Manziel, of course, is a legend in College Station after a prolific career as the Aggies quarterback from 2011-2013. He won the Heisman Trophy in 2012 before becoming a first-round pick by the Cleveland Browns in the 2014 NFL Draft. He spent a couple of years in the NFL before playing in various football leagues until entering retirement in 2022.

Manziel was a big proponent of Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia’s rise over the last two seasons. He was even on the sideline supporting the Vandy quarterback. Some analysts likened Pavia’s play and swagger for the Commodores to Manziel’s impact on Texas A&M.