Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts NFL franchise.He is the son of former New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie Manning and Olivia Manning, and the older brother of current New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning. Peyton played college football for the University of Tennessee and was selected by the Indianapolis Colts as the first overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft.
Manning holds numerous NFL passing records, including the record for touchdown passes in a single season (49 in 2004) and consecutive seasons with over 4,000 yards passing (6 from 1999 through 2004.). He also holds most school passing records at the University of Tennessee.
Because of his father’s legacy at Ole Miss, as well as his own status as the most highly recruited high school quarterback of his class, Peyton Manning stunned many when he chose to attend and play for the University of Tennessee. Manning would become Tennessee’s all-time leading passer with 11,201 yards, 863 completions and 89 touchdowns, while compiling a 39-6 record as a starter, setting an SEC record for career wins (although Georgia’s David Greene would set a new record of 42 wins in 2005). In his college career, he threw only 33 interceptions in 1,381 attempts, an NCAA record for best all-time interception percentage.
Although after three years he had completed his degree, a BA in speech communication with a 3.61 GPA and Phi Beta Kappa honors, and was projected to be the top overall pick in the NFL Draft, Manning returned to Tennessee for his senior year. Despite an early season loss to arch rival Florida (the fourth straight such loss), Manning put up even more impressive numbers in his last season (3,819 yards, 36 touchdowns) in leading the Volunteers to the SEC title, and finished second in 1997 Heisman Trophy voting to the University of Michigan’s Charles Woodson. Manning received the 1997 James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States.
