Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test Upended by Surprise Exit

Special Forces: World's Toughest Test pulled one of those moments that makes you sit up on the couch. Midway through the Oct. 16 episode, Johnny Manziel tapped out. Yep, the 2012 Heisman winner and former Browns QB called it and walked, becoming the fifth celebrity to exit Season 4.

What pushed Manziel to quit

The episode centered on a nasty infiltration drill: recruits had to crawl through tight, dirt-choked tunnels and navigate to a signal tower half a mile away. Manziel was leading a team with Gia Giudice and Chanel Iman when he hit a dead end underground and panicked. He told the directing staff, "I'm out," and pulled off his armband.

Quick explainer if you are new to the show: taking off your armband is the point-of-no-return. You are done.

Because Manziel bailed, his team never finished the objective, so all three came up short. Gia said she was stunned the 32-year-old quit in the moment. Chanel said the crawl was brutal and she wound up swallowing a lot of dirt just trying to push through.

"My biggest struggle has always been giving up at times. Losing that battle in my head - that's definitely been a weakness for me. You have to live with the choices you made, and there's no going back to change anything now."

That was Manziel reflecting afterward to E! News. It was a rough watch, and his post-game honesty tracked with what we saw onscreen.

Where the season stands

• Manziel is the fifth exit of Season 4 after quitting during the tunnel drill.
• Other departures: Teresa Giudice left voluntarily over a personal issue; Jussie Smollett was medically pulled due to breathing problems.
• This season's lineup also features Tyler Cameron, Kenya Moore, and Olympic champ Tara Lipinski, among others, still grinding through the course.

For anyone keeping score, Special Forces: World's Toughest Test is the U.S. version of the British series SAS: Who Dares Wins, which basically strips celebrities of all their comforts and drops them into military-style endurance and mental warfare. The premise is simple. The reality, as Manziel just proved, is anything but easy.