HOOVER, Ala. -- Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron tried unsuccessfully to wake up his roommate, Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel, at least one morning at the Manning Passing Academy, a source told ESPN.
The source would not say whether Manziel was present in his room the morning the reigning Heisman Trophy winner missed an early session and subsequently left the camp.
Asked about the matter Thursday at SEC media days, McCarron said, "I can't answer on Johnny Manziel's part; he's his own man. I'm not going to speak on another man's business. That's how I was raised. I know how to handle myself in public, and that's what I worry about."
Some took McCarron's comments as a slight at Manziel, but the Alabama quarterback tweeted on Friday that wasn't the case.
"& people have lost their mind if they think I dissed JM in any way," McCarron said on Twitter. "I said I wouldn't comment on another mans life. I told them I was AJ. AJ McCarron.
"Then I told them how I act and how I live my life. Never said anything on JM and how he should live his life. Y'all can't believe all u hear."
Manziel said Wednesday the only reason he left camp was because he slept in late and missed a meeting -- nothing more, nothing less. He apologized privately to camp officials for being unable to fulfill his commitment.
Since arriving at SEC media days Thursday, McCarron has told several radio stations that Manziel should be the person to answer specific questions about his actions at the camp.
On Wednesday, Manziel was asked why McCarron did not wake him, and he said it was not the responsibility of his roommate to do so.
"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."
Separate from the Manziel questions, McCarron said he wants to handle himself in a way that makes him a good role model for kids. He said the two didn't discuss life in the fishbowl as high-profile SEC quarterbacks.
McCarron made a statement of his own by his choice of attire. He wore a bow tie with pink ribbons to media days, saying it was in honor of a cousin who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.
Information from ESPN.com's Alex Scarborough and The Associated Press was used in this report.