</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Manning's Heisman campaign derailed by dad
Associated Press
Jackson, Miss. -- Eli Manning for the Heisman Trophy. You won't hear that phrase used by Mississippi.
The school's campaign to push the junior quarterback to win college football's most coveted award has come to a screeching halt before it officially began when Archie Manning pulled the plug on his son's Heisman hype.
He told the school twice this spring that if it is planning to promote his youngest son for the Heisman Trophy -- don't even think about it.
"It was after spring practice in late April or early May, Archie asked us not to do anything in the way of a campaign," Mississippi sports information director Langston Rogers said Wednesday.
"We were just kicking around some things that we might do, much the same way we did for Deuce [McAllister]. After I talked to Archie, we backed off of it."
Manning is being mentioned as a possible Heisman Trophy candidate and he's already been projected as one of the first picks in next year's NFL draft if he decides to forgo his senior season.
This preseason has been quieter than last for Manning. Going into his first season as a starter, he drew national attention simply for being Peyton Manning's little brother and Archie Manning's son.
Eli set or tied 17 school records last year, including season marks with 2,948 passing yards, 408 passing attempts, 259 completions and 31 touchdowns.
Before spring football practices began at Ole Miss, Rogers and his staff put together an eye-catching media guide featuring a large picture of Manning dressed in his red Rebels uniform with other shots of him on the field in a collage on a blue background.
Underneath the Ole Miss label on Eli's jersey are the words "Eli Manning -- Heisman Trophy Candidate."
"I told Langston, 'We just spent an hour talking about that,"' Archie Manning said in an interview Monday with The Indianapolis Star. "I had told him, '[A campaign] ain't gonna happen."'
Archie Manning, a star quarterback at Ole Miss who finished fourth in the Heisman voting in 1969, told the Indianapolis Star that he's no stranger to the Heisman hype and he's no fan of it.
He watched his son Peyton go through "the hype" at Tennessee in 1997, only to surprisingly finish second to Michigan defensive back Charles Woodson in the voting.
"I hated what they did to Peyton," Archie Manning said. "It wasn't a pleasant experience for our whole family."</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Thumbs up to Archie for looking out for the wellbeing of his son & family!
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