Alabama's McCarron steers clear of Manziel controversy

HOOVER, Ala. (AP) - Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron is steering clear of the Johnny Manziel questions.

McCarron fielded plenty of them Thursday at Southeastern Conference media day, where his Texas A&M counterpart faced the spotlight a day earlier.

McCarron and Manziel were roommates at the Manning Passing Academy, where Manziel left early and blamed missing activities on oversleeping.

Asked if he bought that explanation, McCarron said: "I can't answer on Johnny Manziel's part. My name's A.J."

"Everything that has to do with him, he's his own man," the Alabama quarterback said. "I'm not going to speak on another man's business. That's how I was raised - if it doesn't have anything to do with you, don't speak of it.

"I know how I handle myself in public, how I carry myself in front of people. That's what I'm worried about, trying to be the best player and best person off the field that I can be for my family and the university."

For his part, Manziel said McCarron didn't wake him up for the event but he took responsibility.

"I'm definitely not going to pin it on him," Manziel said. "It's my fault - 115, 120 percent."

LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger said the Manning camp can be hard to manage for a young player like Manziel.

"It's tough. There's social events at night that they have and there's definitely temptation to do something foolish," Mettenberger said. "He's still a 20-year-old kid. He's been put into a huge spotlight and limelight and it's tough to handle. Hopefully he'll learn from this and just become a better person."