Peyton Manning reaffirms loyalty to Tennesse but 'pulling' for nephew Arch at Texas

Legendary Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning appeared on The Pat McAfee Show on Thursday to discuss various things, such as his Netflix show Quarterbacks. Still, that did not stop the two-time Super Bowl champion from discussing a little college football.

During his appearance, Manning talked about his excitement for his nephew Arch Manning, who is undoubtedly the most ballyhooed backup quarterback in college football since joining Texas a year ago. For his part, Peyton Manning made sure to affirm his loyalty to his alma mater and college football home: the Tennessee Volunteers.

“My allegiances are always to the Tennessee Vols; you see my Smokey T-shirt I have on,” said Manning. “I’m pulling hard from my nephew. I’m proud of him [and] how he’s handled himself in Texas, and I’m looking forward to watching him throughout his career there.

“I’ve always been an SEC guy … my final three were kind of all schools: Tennessee, Florida, and Ole Miss,” Manning continued. “I knew that’s the conference I wanted to play in. My dad played in it; Eli played in it. And so, I’m proud for my nephew having a chance to play in this conference.”

The Mannings and the SEC are synonymous with one another. Peyton Manning’s father, Archie Manning, and two brothers, Cooper and Eli Manning, all attended Ole Miss. And now his nephew, after starting his career in the Big 12, is in the family’s home conference. And with Texas and Tennessee destined to play each other somewhere down the line, does “The Sheriff” plan on making any bets on that game?

“No wagers there. Eli and I always usually have something on the Tennessee-Ole Miss game,” Manning said. “I had to wear an Ole Miss jersey on a Monday night show a couple of years ago. That was a hard pill to swallow, losing to Eli.”

Speaking of the Longhorns, the Hall of Fame quarterback also shared his thoughts on Texas and Oklahoma joining the conference. Manning has said in the past that he loves the acquisition of the two powerhouse schools. This time around, he focused more on the rivalries Texas and Oklahoma bring to the SEC, along with the new ones they will forge in the conference.

“I think it’s gonna be awesome for the Southeastern Conference,” said Manning. “I’m going to the Tennessee-Oklahoma game in Norman this year. I think it’s Oklahoma’s first Southeastern Conference game; they’re playing my Tennessee Vols in Norman, not too far from Denver. I think there gonna be some immediate rivalries created with Texas and Georgia [or] Alabama; Oklahoma-Tennessee. It’s not gonna take long to create these rivalries.

“Obviously, [Texas] A&M-Texas, bringing that back, that’s awesome. Bringing Texas-Arkansas back; I think that’s awesome. So both those teams are going to get right into the conference. It made an incredibly good conference even harder.”