Rebels' quarterback is his own Manning

By Ron Higgins, GoMemphis.com
08/26/01 11:57 PM Central

Oxford, MS (AP) -- Pardon Eli Manning if he doesn't view himself as the latest legend-in-training in the first family of Southern football. To Eli, Archie Manning is not the red-headed, scrambling Ole Miss quarterbacking icon of the late '60s.

He's simply Dad, someone Eli called when he sought permission to stay out late when he was in high school. If Dad answered, Eli would change his voice and ask for his soft-hearted mother Olivia.

To Eli, Peyton Mannnig is not the All-Pro QB of the Indianapolis Colts, the best passer in University of Tennessee history and star of Gatorade commercials.

He's just an older brother who'd sit on the chest of football-trivia challenged baby brother until Eli could name all the Southeastern Conference schools.

For goodness sake, Eli hasn't even read the entire book Manning, last year's family autobiography. Eli said it's because he's heard most of those stories before, adding it's like watching a movie he's already seen.

So forgive the laid-back Eli, a 20-year-old third-year sophomore, if he doesn't get lathered about the historical significance of becoming Ole Miss's starting quarterback Saturday against Murray State.

"There might be more pressure on me being the brother of Peyton than the son of Archie, but I don't worry about it," said Eli, who was redshirted two years ago as a freshman and who served as Romaro Miller's backup last season. "I work hard and prepare not because of what the fans expect, but because I want to be a good quarterback who knows what he's doing out there."

Eli's coming

The last two times that Eli has played with fans in the stands, he left every indication he certainly knows what he's doing.

His fourth-quarter performance in last year's Music City Bowl was ... well, the never-say-die heroics that you'd expect out of a quarterback with the name Manning on the back of his jersey.

With the Rebels hopelessly trailing West Virginia, 49-16, Eli completed 12 of 20 passes for 167 yards and three TDs as Ole Miss clicked off 22 unanswered points.

His only negative was an interception he threw under pressure that prevented the Rebels from closing the gap even further in a 49-38 loss. On that freezing December day in Nashville, he left Ole Miss fans feeling rather toasty about the future.

Then a few months later in the spring game, he completed 25 of 38 passes (to eight different receivers) for 287 yards and four touchdowns (two others were dropped).

"Eli's been in our system for two years and he's a very prepared football player," said Ole Miss coach David Cutcliffe, who was Peyton's offensive coordinator during his career at Tennessee from 1994-97. "But he hasn't started a college game yet. The last time he started a game was when he played at Newman High in New Orleans. Comparing Peyton and Eli is difficult."

Cutcliffe does marvel at the contrast in personalities of Eli and Peyton, yet sees their shared studious approaches to the game.

"Eli is not as vocal as Peyton," said Cutcliffe, "but he commands respect because of his work ethic. He sets the pace. They all know this is the guy that knows the entire offense."

Ole Miss veterans, such as senior guard Terrence Metcalf, say that Eli has earned their respect.

"Eli has a calm intensity," Metcalf said. "By the tone of his voice in the huddle, the way he calls the plays, he lets you know it's his huddle. He makes sure the 10 other guys know what they're supposed to do. Eli has the potential to be the best quarterback in the league."

Last year when Eli played sparingly, he prepared every week like it was the Super Bowl. He credited Miller for such an approach.

"Romaro made every practice like a real game," Eli said. "I not only watched film of our opponent each week, but I watched film of our own defense like it was also our opponent. I wanted to be able to make my practice calls like a fast-paced game situation."

Eli maintained the intensity this summer in Oxford, round|ing up receivers and defensive backs at least twice a week for voluntary sessions in between weight training and running workouts.

Still, though, Eli liked to give his father the impression he was on cruise control.

"When Dad called me to ask about workouts, I'd tell him that I told the coaches I'm taking the week off to maybe watch TV," Eli said with a snicker. "Dad would get mad and say, 'What are you doing?' Dad's real gullible."

Easy E

Ask Archie Manning about his youngest son, and you can hear a lilt in his voice.

"We have three kids, and they turned out to be completely different animals," said Archie, who owns and operates a New Orleans marketing firm. "I've never figured it out. I felt we tried to raise them exactly the same way with the same principles. It's been fun watching Eli come out of his shell and develop."

Even Eli admitted, "I was the shy one, I wouldn't say a word unless you forced me. If you asked me questions, most of my answers were 'yes' or 'no.'"

Eli is five years younger than Peyton (25) and seven years younger than Cooper (27), who's an institutional broker for the New Orleans firm of Howard Weil.

The older boys, by their closeness in age, formed a brotherly bond that included a one-upsmanship as sports historians.

Cooper and Peyton knew about their father's storied career at Ole Miss, where as a senior Archie finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting.

They'd watch his college game films. They were in the stands at his New Orleans Saints games, where they once joined (to their mother's horror) the rest of the crowd in booing Archie and his struggling teammates.

On family car trips, Cooper and Peyton would play what they called "The Number Game." Archie would say the number of a player, Cooper and Peyton would have to guess who wore the number and what team that player played on. Eli usually didn't care enough to have a clue.

"Peyton would get mad at me, he forced me to learn everything about players and teams," Eli said. "He'd pin me down, sit on my chest and make me name every team in the SEC. Finally, I had to sit down and study them because I wanted to get out of there quicker."

By the time Eli was born, his father's pro career was virtually over. He was in the midst of bouncing from the Saints to the Houston Oilers to the Minnesota Vikings.

There was a time that Archie feared he didn't have the same connection with Eli during his formative years as he did with Cooper and Peyton.

But as Cooper and Peyton grew older, Archie and Eli bonded, though not in the same way as his first two sons.

"Dad and Peyton had a relationship like they were pals," said Cooper, who graduated from Ole Miss in 1996 after his playing career as a receiver was cut short by congenital narrowing of the spinal cord. "Eli and my Dad have more a father-son relationship. Eli might be the first Manning child who thought growing up that his parents were pretty old."

Along the way, Eli developed his cool, quirky personality.

For instance, he had a rule when he was about 10 years old that he would only kiss his parents once a week.

"I did it on Sunday night and that was it," said Eli, the rebel in a family big on affection. "I don't even know now why I did it."

As he progressed through Isadore Newman High, where his brothers starred before him, he developed his own style. He mixed Cooper's playfulness and Peyton's competitiveness.

"Eli just always went about his business quietly," Archie said. "In high school, he'd score 16 or 18 points one night in a game, and then the next game not even take two shots. It never even bothered him. He just wanted to win."

Cooper admires Eli's unflappable demeanor, starting with his high school habit of throwing a touchdown pass and walking off the field without a trace of emotion,

"I don't think Eli is interested in calling attention to himself, that's not his style," Cooper said. "I don't think he wants to have an Eli Manning Drive or statues of him (like Peyton does in both cases on the Tennessee campus)."

Eli did have an out-of-personality experience in the Music City Bowl. After he threw his first TD pass, he raced downfield to celebrate with his teammates.

"I didn't know what I was doing," Eli said sheepishly. "I felt kind of ridiculous because I ran down there and they were running off the field while I was trying to high-five them."

Becoming a Rebel

The one thing that always felt right to Eli was his decision to attend Ole Miss.

Unlike Peyton, who seemed to revel in the challenge of the massive recruiting process, Eli had 10 teams on his list from the start.

"If a team wasn't on that list and a coach of that team called me, I'd tell them sorry," Eli said. "I wasn't that good at talking to somebody if I wasn't interested in their school."

He announced his decision in December 1998 after his senior season, picking Ole Miss over Texas and Virginia.

Eli chose Ole Miss because he liked the small-campus atmosphere and he knew Cutcliffe.

He said he remembered the hate mail from Ole Miss that his father and Peyton received when Peyton chose Tennessee, but he and his father didn't hold it against the school at decision time.

"I very seldom used to get a speeding ticket in Mississippi before Peyton signed with Tennessee, but I got a couple after he signed," Archie said with a laugh. "Maybe now, I can speed again even though I need to slow down."

Archie was relieved that Eli was redshirted as a freshman, unlike Peyton who was forced into action almost immediately because of injuries.

Eli has diffused as much pressure as possible at Ole Miss.

He chose No. 10 as a jersey, not the No. 18 his father wore at Ole Miss and Peyton wears with the Colts. He stayed out of the spotlight his first year, except when a fraternity initiation party got out of hand and he was arrested for public drunkenness.

"I thought that was blown out of proportion," Cooper said. "They probably could have arrested me every single night at Ole Miss. I felt bad for Eli, but it's part of growing up."

Peyton, naturally, got in a sly dig at Eli about the incident. During a sideline TV shot at the Pro Bowl, Peyton held up a cup of Gatorade to the camera, winked and said with knowing grin, "Eli?"

Replied Eli, laughing, "I saw him, and I'm planning my payback. You can always forgive, but you can't forget."

Big bro vs. lil' bro

Peyton and Eli have a good-natured, spirited competition. In high school, Eli was a three-time all-state selection, and Peyton made all-state twice.

Eli completed 429-of-725 (59.2 percent) for 7,389 career yards and 81 touchdowns. Peyton was 452-of-761 (59.4) percent) for 7,207 career yards and 92 touchdowns.

Eli: "Peyton wants to break out my high school tapes; he thinks my numbers are wrong. He wants to chart the plays."

Peyton: "I was giving him a hard time. I think he broke a few of my records."

Eli: "I dunked on Peyton a few times my sophomore or junior year playing in our backyard. He didn't like it."

Peyton: "That's crazy! He's absolutely full of it. I do remember a baseball game in which he struck out three times. He took three called strikes."

Eli: "I've run a 4.78 in the 40 (yard dash). Peyton has run a 4.9. He thinks he can beat me. I've challenged him. He won't accept. He's scared."

Peyton: "He says he's faster, jumps higher all of that. ... He's a younger brother."

Eli: "I'm about 6-4d. Peyton is about 6-5d. He's got that long neck, which is why they named that giraffe (in the Knoxville zoo) after him."

Verbal jousting aside, Peyton has bought a satellite dish so he doesn't miss any of Eli's games.

"I pull for Eli so hard," Peyton said. "It's like my dad when I played (at Tennessee). He'd see that defensive end coming in on me and say, 'Oh, no.' I see the same thing with Eli and me. I just want him to be happy."

Eli is first to say that Peyton is his reference point because of his familiarity with Cutcliffe's offense.

Usually once a week, Eli and Peyton talk by phone. More often than not, Eli asks the questions and big brother has the answers.

"Coaches know basic Xs and Os," Eli said. "But there are situations I see on the field that only another quarterback like Peyton has seen, and I can talk more freely with him.

"I can tell him what play I called, what defense I'm facing and he knows exactly what I'm talking about. I might say, 'On this play, can I squeeze this throw in to a receiver?' And he'll say, 'I've tried to make that throw, you can't do it and it's not going to happen.'"

Peyton respects Eli's approach to the game.

"Eli has a good head on his shoulders," Peyton said. "I don't like to preach. My Dad didn't preach to me. I asked a lot of questions.

"Eli's figured out a lot for himself. ... All he wants to do is throw his first pass, his first touchdown and win his first game."

His own man

When Eli lines up under center against Murray State, it will be 30 seasons and 339 games since a Manning took a snap as a Rebel starter.

The Mannings are excited and nervous. Ole Miss fans are on edge, ready to see someone who was named first-team preseason All-SEC by Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook.

"I'm proud of my name," Eli said. "I proud of my father. I'm proud of my mother because I have her easy-going personality and she's helped me deal with all this.

"But I didn't come to Ole Miss to live up my Dad's name or Peyton's name. I'm trying to make my own name, and all I care about is wins and losses."

- Ron Higgins: 529-2525 August 26, 2001