COLUMN: Matt Corral and the greatest all-time Ole Miss quarterback debate

Ole Miss has been blessed to have had a lot of outstanding quarterbacks throughout its history., arguably some of the best to ever play the game.

In this humble opinion, the list of excellent Rebel signal callers would compete with any school in the country in number and quality.

With that in mind, it would be unfair to try to quantify who is the “best” ever at Ole Miss, so let’s make this totally subjective and easy, with no wrong answers. Yes, another one of those fan participation articles as we await the Sugar Bowl.

Who is your favorite quarterback since you have been following Ole Miss football? This question came to mind this year when it was stated by some on The Ole Miss Spirit message board that Matt Corral fell into that category – favorite ever – for some.

For people of my generation, there are a lot to choose from, but even I will have to leave out some greats like Parker Hall, Charlie Conerly, Jimmy Lear, Eagle Day, Jake Gibbs, Jimmy Weatherly, Raymond Brown and Glynn Griffing because I did not witness them play, except Griffing once when I was very young.

So, my personal apologies to their football memories and omission from this fun exercise.

Again, this is a personal choice because we could fuss and discuss for a year or more about who is actually the best to ever suit up at Ole Miss. There are so many choices.

As I was trying to sort out my answer, I couldn’t help but recall some of my most enjoyable quarterback memories.

Statistically, it’s hard to argue with Eli Manning, Bo Wallace, Chad Kelly or Corral, and even though any of those could qualify as anyone’s personal favorite, this is not a statistical opinion, or at least not for me.

Jevan Snead, Mark Young, Stewart Patridge, John Darnell, Norris Weese, Russ Shows, Tom Luke all had moments of excitement for me and were all winners and leaders of good Rebel teams, but the strongest arm I’ve seen from a Rebel quarterback was Romaro Miller, with apologies to Kelly, who also had a cannon. One time in practice, Miller threw a 12-yard out that traveled some 40 yards on a line toward where I was standing and I could actually hear the ball. Yes, I heard it. I swear it. Never happened before or since.

John Fourcade was probably the flashiest, brashest quarterback I’ve seen, Kent Austin was the most accurate Rebel passer I can recall and Jeremiah Masoli played on a bad team but he had outstanding physical gifts.

Kelly Powell had solid physical tools, but his gift was leadership. For whatever reason, his teammates would follow him into hell and back and that produced some memorable wins in Billy Brewer’s first year as the Rebel mentor.

And I have to mention Michael Spurlock, who just couldn’t get over the hump at QB at Ole Miss, but his physical ability was off the charts, proven by a very good NFL career as a return specialist. I have often wondered how good Spurlock could have been in a tempo/read-option/spread offense. With his legs and speed and strong arm, I just have to believe his career at Ole Miss would have been much different.

Having said all that, I think everyone knows where I am going with this.

In my mind, and it’s been this way since I first laid eyes on him, Archie is my favorite all-time quarterback at Ole Miss. I’ll take it a step further – he’s my all-time favorite quarterback from any team at any university and I’ll say that without my Red & Blue glasses on.

No other player has ever kept me on the edge of my seat with every single snap like the elder stateman of the Manning clan and it’s not even close.

Fourcade, Kelly, Corral – sheer excitement, fun and productive. Every superlative is justified.

But a healthy Archie Manning – forget about it. Excitement personified. The definition of excitement.

Analysts talk about quarterbacks having the ability to extend plays with their movement. The king of extending plays was Archie, bar none. Not even close. Some of his scrambles were legendary in distance, time and adrenaline producing.

So, for me, I tip my cap to all the Rebel quarterbacks I have witnessed. There have been some of the very best anywhere, but as Sports Illustrated wrote in 1970, considered the year of the quarterback. . . . 

. . . . the best of them all is Archie.

So let’s get this conversation going.

Who is your all-time favorite Rebel quarterback and why? Remember, there are no wrong answers.