Peyton Manning recalls his favorite play as a Vol against Georgia
By Cody McClure
Published:
Former Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning joined Nashville’s 104.5 The Zone on Wednesday for a radio interview.
Manning was asked about his favorite memory against Georgia, according to a report from GoVols247, and he had no trouble recollecting what it is.
Manning said has favorite memory against the Bulldogs is a third-and-one early in the fourth quarter of a 1996 game in Athens. The Volunteers were up 22-10 and looking to score again. First, they needed to pick up a first down with a quarterback sneak. However, that QB sneak turned into a touchdown pass.
Here is an excerpt from Manning describing the play, which ended up being one of his most noteworthy at UT:
“It was a third-and-1, I want to say, on a quarterback sneak which, you know, not my favorite play. I’m pretty sure its what led to my neck surgeries, getting my head smashed in the bottom of the pile. Anyway, we’re getting ready to go into this quarterback sneak and Georgia had these two 330-pound defensive tackles. I mean, you couldn’t move them.
“I remember my center going, ‘Uh oh, this isn’t going to work,’ as we’re about to snap the ball, which isn’t the most comforting thing to hear. So we go for the sneak and I just go nowhere. This massive pile of defensive linemen just create this roadblock. I didn’t go anywhere, but my knee didn’t go down, so I kind of kept moving my feet.
“Next thing you know, I get pushed back. I have the ball, obviously. I looked at the ref and the ref looks at me like, ‘I don’t know what to do.’ And I don’t know what to do, either. The play should be over. I kind of sprinted out to the right and ended up throwing a touchdown pass to Marcus Nash. So it’s the only quarterback sneak/touchdown pass that I’ve ever recorded. Maybe in history.
“But there was no one downfield, which is kind of amazing. That’s kind of the way it is on a quarterback sneak. I’ll always remember that play. It helped us beat Georgia. Obviously I’d be in favor of those results on Saturday.”
Check out the play below, around the 43:30 mark.
Tennessee hosts Georgia on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.
Cody McClure is an SEC Football Writer for Saturday Down South. He lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he also co-hosts a midday sports radio show for FOX Sports. Cody previously worked for Athlon Sports.
