(AP)

HOOVER, Ala. — Cameras in his face and accompanied by Texas A&M officials, Johnny Manziel made his anticipated arrival Wednesday at SEC Media Days.

First stop: ESPN.

Manziel admitted his new-found fame as the first freshman quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy was more difficult than he imagined.

“The spotlight is 10 times brighter and 10 times hotter than I thought it was two months ago,” Manziel said.

“I guess I feel like Justin Bieber or something. I never thought it would really be that way.”

Manziel was appearing before the media just days after his latest offseason controversy. He clarified why he left the Manning Passing Camp early this past weekend.

Manziel admitted to missing a meeting Saturday and blamed it on oversleeping after his cellphone died.

Asked if he was hungover, Manziel said, “Absolutely not.”

He did not answer a question about whether he consumed alcohol, but expressed regret for his departure.

“There’s no excuse for it. Absolutely my fault,” Manziel said.

With Manziel’s high profile — be it via social media, going on lavish vacations or the occasional run-in with a celebrity — his every movement has been scrutinized more closely. And every public misstep has been dissected by fans and media.

He admitted the criticism has been difficult.

“It gets to me a little bit. I’m not going to lie,” Manziel said. “I feel like, to be honest, I haven’t done anything criminal this offseason. I haven’t done anything like that. I’ve made my mistakes. I’m still growing up. I’m still learning from that.

“At the end of the day, I’m going to continue to make mistakes and the big thing for me is to learn from them and not make the same one twice.”

Explanations for Manziel leaving the Manning Academy were fuzzy. Rumors spread the Texas A&M quarterback had failed to fulfill his duties as a counselor because he had partied too hard. It didn’t help a photo of him and Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron at a bar near Nichols State University appeared on Twitter.

The official word from the camp was Manziel was feeling ill.

There was no comment from Manziel until Wednesday, but Peyton Manning came to his defense.

“I enjoyed meeting Johnny,” Manning said in a statement to ESPN. “I can remember a 20-year-old Eli (Manning) missing a meeting (at camp) and catching some flak. We always have counselors who leave early. Johnny was great with the campers for the time he was here. He had to leave early. I wish him the best and I want him to come back as a counselor next year.”

Then Monday, Manziel pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in Texas for his role in an altercation last summer.

Before heading to Alabama for his first media day appearance, Manziel was advised to come clean and answer all questions as directly and honestly as possible.

That’s what he did Wednesday.