Strange: Manning, the elder statesman, feels young

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A knoxnews exclusive interview with Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning. Manning talks about what the Peyback Foundation means to him and shares his thoughts on the upcoming football season. Watch »

Brett Favre is retired, we think. On Wednesday, the Baltimore Ravens placed Steve McNair on the retired list.

Guess who that leaves as the dean of that most exclusive club, the NFL starting quarterbacks?

Time flies. Somehow before our very eyes Peyton Manning has become the old-timer.

If a tourist from Hong Kong glanced at Manning's ranking on various NFL career passing stat charts, he'd assume Peyton must be at or at least near the end of his playing days.

Not so fast, Manning protested Tuesday during a visit to the University of Tennessee campus.

"I don't feel like an old player,'' he said. "I feel very much young.''

He says that, even though he admits rookies call him "Mr. Manning.'' Jacob Tamme, a rookie receiver from Kentucky, recently mentioned how much he enjoyed watching Manning on ESPN Classic in a 1995 UT-Georgia game.

"Here's a guy,'' Manning said, "that when I was a 22-year-old senior here at Tennessee, this kid was 11 years old.''

There are a couple of older quarterbacks in the league. Todd Collins and Jon Kitna have been around longer but nobody matches Manning's tenure as a starter - 160 starts out of 160 regular-season games for the Indianapolis Colts since 1998.

Manning is 32 and healthy heading into his 11th NFL season. He plans to continue slinging passes for the foreseeable future.

He'll keep taking his bodyguards, aka offensive line, out to dinner to inspire the ultimate in protection. One concession to age, he preserves his arm by keeping a throw count like a baseball pitcher.

Favre, the NFL's new all-time leader in passing yards and touchdown passes, played 17 years, was a starter for 16 of them.

Besides Favre, only Dan Marino and Fran Tarkenton have thrown more TD passes than Manning's 306. Marino played 17 years, Tarkenton 18.

Manning doesn't have a finite idea of how long he'll play, just as long as he can keep playing at a high level.

"I don't want to be just hanging on,'' he said. "I still want to be able to make the same throws I've always made. Hopefully, that'll be a number of more years.''

But while Manning is long enough in the tooth to entertain speculation about the end of his career, he's not too far gone to recall the details of the beginning.

When UT opens the 2008 season against UCLA in the Rose Bowl it will be the 14th anniversary of Manning's collegiate debut, also against UCLA in the Rose Bowl.

While Manning was a ballyhooed signee out of New Orleans, he expected to spend 1994 getting his feet wet in support of senior Jerry Colquitt, who was finally getting his shot after sitting behind Heath Shuler for two seasons.

"I was just glad to be in the stadium that day,'' Manning recalled, "playing in the Rose Bowl with Keith Jackson and Bob Griese broadcasting the game on ABC national television.

"I really had no intentions of playing that day and I didn't know if I was going to play at all that season.''

The scenario changed when Colquitt suffered a season-ending knee injury on the seventh play of the game.

Todd Helton took over at quarterback. Manning played one series, handing off three times.

"The hair on my arms was sticking straight up,'' Manning said. "I still get excited thinking about it.''

It wasn't until Helton was hurt in the fourth game, at Mississippi State, that Manning moved to the front burner, eventually beating out fellow freshman Branndon Stewart.

Stewart transferred after the season. Manning went on to rewrite the UT record book. Now he's assaulting the NFL record book with no end in sight.

But even though the youngsters call him "Mr. Manning" now, he's never forgotten the feeling of the hair sticking up on his arms one day in Pasadena.

"I think about these rookies now on our team,'' Manning said, "playing that first game, how nervous they are.

"I can relate to that.''

Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276 or strangem@knoxnews.com.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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