We're counting down the top 5 SEC quarterbacks in history, starting with last week's pick, Tim Tebow, coming in at #2. Here's our #1 pick:
#1 – Peyton Manning, Tennessee Volunteers (1994-1997)
While many would place Gator legend Tim Tebow at the top of this list, the 2aDays choice for the best SEC quarterback of all-time goes to Peyton Manning. Peyton chose to play college football at the University of Tennessee, surprising many by not following in his father Archie's footsteps and signing with the University of Mississippi. In case you weren't convinced how serious and fanatical college football fans could get, Peyton's parents received angry phone calls, letters, and even threats due to his commitment to Tennessee.
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But Manning didn't budge, and it certainly paid off. Upon graduation, Peyton was Tennessee's all-time leader in passing yards with 11,201, threw for 89 touchdowns, and won 39 of 45 games as a starter – an 87% winning percentage – breaking the SEC record for career wins at the time. His greatness as the quarterback of the Volunteers was ultimately recognized in the most honorable way when Manning was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2017. Like Tebow, Manning played all four seasons at Tennessee, never declaring early for the NFL Draft. However very much, unlike Tebow, Manning had all the attributes a professional football scout would want in an NFL future franchise QB. Manning was rightfully viewed as a coach's dream, so it really should be no surprise that his uniquely exceptional NFL career started with being drafted first overall by the Indianapolis Colts in the 1988 NFL Draft.
Manning went on to start for the Colts as a rookie QB in the NFL and never looked back. He played for 13 straight seasons before a severe neck injury cost him the entire 2011 season. After working hard to recover from the injury, Peyton never played another game for Indianapolis, joining the Denver Broncos for the 2012 season. Manning retired in 2015 as a Bronco in one of the most remarkable stories in sports history, capping off what many argue the best career for an NFL QB in history with a Super Bowl Championship.
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Peyton's distinguished 18-year career–17 if you discount the season he missed from his neck injury– is littered with all-time NFL records. Manning holds the NFL record for career passing yards and career touchdown passes and was named the league's MVP five times (four times as a Colt and once as a Bronco), was selected to the Pro Bowl 14 times, and was also named a first-team All-Pro seven times. The one criticism Manning faces is his postseason level of play as compared to his stellar regular season results. His postseason record is an average 14-13, compared to his 186-79 regular season record.
Nonetheless, he's the only QB in NFL history to make the Super Bowl four times with four different head coaches. He wound up winning two of the four: one with the Colts and one in his final NFL career game with the Broncos, though most football experts agree that was overwhelmingly due to the Broncos dominant defense since Peyton threw for just 141 yards and finished with a QB Rating of 56.6. There's some legitimacy to that disparagement, which is supported by stats and comparisons to other legendary NFL QBs to an extent, however, “only” winning two Super Bowls in four appearances is hardly a real criticism.
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Continuing to keep in mind this Top 5 list was about SEC quarterback play, Peyton edged out the rest of the SEC quarterbacks (namely Tebow) because it's not difficult to make the case that he's the best QB in all of football history. Tebow is the exception to this list in terms of his professional career–every other quarterback is either a Pro Football Hall of Famer or a Super Bowl champion and that's because of how extraordinary his college career was. But at the end of the day, when you're a Heisman winner, NCAA national champion, and first-round NFL Draft pick, it's easy to see why Manning could be considered the greatest QB in SEC history. Plus, Peyton is already in the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame, capping off his impressive and lengthy list of accomplishments.
Just like he finished his football career at the very top, Peyton Manning finishes off the latest 2aDays Top 5 list at the top as the best Quarterback in the Southeastern Conference's history. Did we get it right? Let us know at [email protected].
Image Credit: Fansided
* Originally published on February 15, 2023, by 2aDays Staff
