Some big shoes to fill for Rebel QB Eli Manning

By Ben Cook, The Sports Ticket
04/13/00 11:57 PM Central

Internet Column - Today let’s talk about having big shoes to fill. It’s bad enough when you follow your father into the glare of big-time college football, a father that was a legend in college and a long-time National Football League quarterback. But it’s even worse when your older brother is one of the most beloved players in the history of the game and is currently tearing up the NFL.

That’s the daunting task facing Ole Miss redshirt freshman quarterback Eli Manning, son of Archie and brother of Peyton. Some questioned the intelligence of the latest Manning when he chose to sign with Ole Miss, where his dad remains arguably the greatest quarterback to ever play for the Rebels.

At least Peyton had the good sense to go somewhere new, away from his father’s records and memory. That he chose Tennessee, one of the biggest rivals of Ole Miss, is still a little mystifying but he certainly made it work and became one of the most popular Vols to ever wear the orange jersey.

Spring football drills are winding up around the Southeastern Conference. Alabama’s spring game is Saturday, Auburn’s a week later. Georgia wound up last Saturday and Ole Miss finished a week ago, and that’s where Eli Manning made his first mistake. Well, second mistake. His first was trying to take on his Dad’s legend at Ole Miss. His second mistake is pulling typical Manning heroics to win the game.

Now those Ole Miss fans are going to expect it all the time. They may even expect him to be better than both Archie and Peyton.

Shoot, he may be.

Both Archie and Peyton have said Eli will be the best quarterback of the three. That’s hard to believe, but Eli did have a day in the Grove Bowl.

Manning completed 12-of-19 passes for 157 yards and led the Blue squad to a come-from-behind 17-13 victory over the Red team before an estimated crowd of 16,800. By fall, 75,000 will swear they were there to see the newest Manning take his first steps toward legendary status.

Manning hit the game-winning touchdown pass, a five-yard pass to L.J. Taylor, with 41 seconds left in the fourth quarter. The touchdown completed an 11-play, 70-yard drive in the final 2:35 of the game.

"I felt comfortable out there," said Manning of the drive. "It was a two-minute drill. Our receivers made some big-time plays, and our line did a great job of blocking."

Spoken like a true Manning, humble all the way.

Ole Miss coach David Cutcliffe, who was, by the way, the main reason Peyton went to Tennessee, was pleased with all his quarterbacks. "Our improvement at the quarterback position is very noticeable,” he said. “Romaro (Miller) had an outstanding spring, particularly the last five practices. Eli had an outstanding spring, and anyone who watched the game today saw that David Morris had an outstanding spring."

But none of the fans were talking about Miller or Morris after the game, just about Eli.

"I was excited to get out there in a live situation, with the crowd around you,” said Manning. “We got off to a slow start, but the tempo really picked up in the second half. With the coaching staff split up, David Morris and I helped out with the play-calling a little bit. It was fun.

"I definitely felt better than I did last year. I feel a lot stronger throwing the ball. A lot of that comes from hitting the weights. Overall, I just have to get better for next season and get the timing down with the receivers. I just have to keep working hard.”

Manning is 6-4, 200 pounds and was the USA Today Player of the Year in Louisiana following his senior season at Isadore Newman High School in New Orleans. When he signed with Ole Miss, the Rebel fans took it as a recruiting coup after losing Peyton to Tennessee four years earlier. They pretty much feel that a Manning should play at Ole Miss like Archie, and another older brother, Cooper did.

The thing is Manning doesn’t have to step in an play for Ole Miss this season because the Rebels have incumbent starter senior Romaro Miller Miller, and returning tailbacks Joe Gunn and Deuce McAlister, give Ole Miss one of the most potent offenses in the Southeastern Conference.

With Miller there to start, Cutcliffe has the luxury of working Manning in at his own pace. Judging from his performance in the Grove Bowl, Manning’s pace may be a little more rapid than even Cutcliffe anticipated.

That would be fine with Ole Miss fans. After all, with a Manning quarterbacking the Rebels, the world just seems a better place to be.