Retired New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning is a finalist for this year’s class for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His presence is ubiquitous due to his massive endorsements, television shows, and his legacy with the Giants and at his alma mater, Ole Miss.
Almost everyone has an Eli opinion or story to tell.
Recently, former college teammate, Patrick Willis — a Pro Football Hall of Famer himself — tells a humorous story about sacking Manning when he was a freshman and Eli was a senior down in Oxford in 2003.
“My first practice, I come off the ball, and Eli drops back to pass,” Willis said in a recent interview. “Working good mechanics, I act as if I’m going to swipe the ball. I’m not going to hit the ball but act as if I am. I’ll never forget getting ripped by the coaches, the head coach.
“As soon as I went by them, all I heard was, ‘You freshman, stay away from him! Don’t you ever get close to him!'”
Willis would get his chance to sack his friend a few years later, when he was an All-Pro linebacker with the San Francisco 49ers and Manning was in his prime with the Giants.
“Fast forward, here we are playing against one another,” Willis said, “and I finally get a chance to get my sack on him, and I’m like, ‘Yeah, nobody here to save you now!’ He would probably that [favorite] amongst the others.”
Willis was part of last year’s Hall class and Manning could get in next week when the announcements are due.
