The Auburn Tigers were the first domino to fall that'd eventually land Eli Manning on the Ole Miss Rebels, and not with the Texas Longhorns. Manning recently revealed how Tommy Tuberville's taking the Auburn head coaching job changed his collegiate decision entirely.
Per Manning during an appearance on "Bussin With The Boys," “I was wide open in the recruiting process. I was probably going to Texas. Mack Brown was the head coach and they were kind of rocking and rolling there ... Ricky Williams was going to be leaving. He was in his senior year and I was going to go to Texas. The Ole Miss staff, Tommy Tuberville and their whole staff left Ole Miss, went to Auburn, and that’s when David Cutcliffe came in, who was Peyton’s offensive coordinator at Tennessee. And so new coach, Cut, I had went to football camps at Tennessee, liked him, liked his offense. So he kind of brought me back in and it’s like, you know, was on a on a mission to sign me and that’s kind of what got me to change from Texas and go back to Ole Miss.”
The Longhorns ended up deploying Major Applewhite, the current head coach of the South Alabama Jaguars, and Chris Simms at the QB position instead of Manning. Texas ended up being alright, though the Longhorns went to just one New Year's Six bowl from 2000 to 2003.
Manning would've undoubtedly been a game-changer for Texas. Perhaps his career trajectory with the Rebs influenced Eli's nephew, Arch. Ole Miss also made one NY6 bowl during that time, though Eli undoubtedly carried the Rebels with 10,119 career passing yards and 81 passing touchdowns. Eli broke or tied nearly 50 program records. In Austin, Eli would've sacrificed stats, but perhaps come closer to a championship.
We'll never know. Tuberville's coaching staff's exodus made Ole Miss an option for Eli, which in and of itself is a pretty notable statement.
Ole Miss may have gained Eli, but Auburn ended up better during Manning's college career
Manning ended up going just 1-3 against Auburn during his career, and Tuberville led an undefeated, some would even say national championship team in 2004. By any stretch of the imagination, the Tuberville hire worked out for the Tigers, even if it led to great things for the Rebels.
The real loser here would be Texas. Even for the Burnt Orange, though, things worked out best for them during this era anyway, since the Longhorns' Class of 2002 QB recruit, Vince Young, led them to a national championship just a few years later in 2005/2006.
When telling the tale of Manning in Oxford, Mississippi, one must now discuss Tuberville's indelible role in the process. Especially considering it came straight from the source himself.
Add us as a preferred source on Google