Eli Manning reveals what led him to change his college plans from Texas to Ole Miss

The Manning family has extended its roots to a handful of SEC programs over the decades. But it was almost Eli Manning who made the connection to Texas first, not Arch Manning.

In an episode of the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast, Manning revealed the Longhorns pushed hard to land him out of high school. And, if not for a coaching change, he might have ended up on the 40 Acres.

“I was probably going to Texas,” Eli Manning explained. “Mack Brown was the head coach, and they were kind of rocking and rolling there. Ricky Williams was gonna be leaving; he was in his senior year. Was gonna go to Texas and then David Cutcliffe — the Ole Miss staff, Tommy Tuberville and their whole staff, left Ole Miss, went to Auburn.”

That move ultimately changed the course of history for a few programs, including Ole Miss. It ushered in a new era in Oxford, one that Eli Manning was soon to be a part of.

“That’s when David Cutcliffe came in, who was Peyton‘s offensive coordinator at Tennessee,” Manning explained. “And so, knew coach, Cut a bunch, went to football camps at Tennessee, liked him, liked his offense, so he kind of brought me back in. And it’s like, you know, was on a mission to sign me, and that’s kind of what got me to change from Texas and go back to Ole Miss.”

Interested in how that whole saga played out, Bussin’ With The Boys host Will Compton lobbed in a quick question. Keep in mind, this was the pre-NIL era.

“A lot of time since you were at Ole Miss,” Compton said. “Way past the time for you to ever get in trouble for anything. Was there ever an offer?”

Eli Manning quickly answered. He was clear.

“No offers, no, no offers. That wasn’t the deal,” Manning said. “I don’t think they, like — they knew that wasn’t gonna make a difference for us, you know? Our family, we were fine. So, like, I don’t think — that would have been an aggressive move if someone were to come into me with a bag of money.”

Whatever the case, Ole Miss got a good one in Eli Manning. And a couple of decades later, Texas would dip its toes into the Manning pond, luring Arch Manning over.

And these days, simply playing the quarterback position at a place like Texas commands a large sum. Offer or not. Suffice it to say, the family has done quite well for itself.