July 20, 2003
Manning to appear in PSA for NCAA
The Clarion-Ledger
Eli Manning essentially got his first up-close look at some of his competition for the Heisman Trophy over the weekend.
The Ole Miss quarterback was among three of the nation's top seniors who were in the Cincinnati area on Saturday to tape a public service announcement for the NCAA that will be aired during football games this season.
Also appearing in the commercial are Texas receiver Roy Williams and Ohio State defensive lineman Tim Anderson. All three players reportedly considered making the jump to the NFL after their junior seasons, but decided to return to college. The theme of the commercial is to advice student-athletes of the benefits of staying in school, Ole Miss sports information director Langston Rogers said.
Manning passed for 3,401 yards and 21 touchdowns last season while guiding the Rebels to a 7-6 record that included an upset victory over Nebraska at the Independence Bowl. Manning, a fifth-year senior owns 24 school passing records, and Williams enter this season widely considered among the front-runners for the Heisman. Manning said he walked away from becoming a likely first-round pick in this year's draft to improve his decision-making ability, size and speed during his final season.
Manning was originally on schedule to graduate in May but said he is now on pace to receive his marketing degree in December.
"We have a long season of business to take care of coming up, but I'm still having fun playing college football," Manning said. "I like my teammates, I'm having fun and everything is just going well for us right now. I'm still happy with my decision to come back and try to help this team improve and win some more football games."
