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Spitting image
Eli Manning more and more resembles his big brother
Posted: Friday August 02, 2002 12:49 PM
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Notes and thoughts from the SEC football media gathering:
Quarterbacks Eli Manning of Ole Miss and Rex Grossman of Florida had never met prior to a hastily assembled photo shoot in the hotel lobby here this week. Manning, wearing a blue blazer and khaki slacks, the unofficial uni of an Ole Miss undergrad, and Grossman, in a dark blue suit, white shirt and electric-blue tie, looked like a couple of frat boys waiting for their dates to reappear.
The 6-foot-5 Manning, who added 15 pounds of muscle over the winter to get to 220, hasn't entirely shed his boyish mien. His sideburns look as if they need to be reseeded. But he's got a chest now, and Grossman has never looked smaller in his life. The SEC media voted Grossman to the all-conference first team by a 3-to-1 margin. I agree, with reservations.
Grossman is in a new offense and will have a lot more responsibilities than he ever did under Steve Spurrier. Plus, Grossman has only one proven receiver in Taylor Jacobs.
Manning, on the other hand, is in his fourth year under coach David Cutcliffe, or his eighth if you include the four his brother Peyton spent with the former Tennessee offensive coordinator. While they are two different people, Eli is, in physical terms, an on-field clone of his older brother. When Peyton came down to Oxford to observe spring practice, Eli "felt like he was having an out-of-body experience," Cutcliffe said. "Peyton taught him the same footwork that I was teaching Peyton."
Ole Miss plays Florida on Oct. 5. Get out your Heisman ballot and circle the date.
Speaking of which, is there anyone outside of the state of Tennessee who believes Vols quarterback Casey Clausen is a Heisman candidate?
I don't know whether Ron Zook will be a good head coach or not. But if his Florida Gators play as fast as he talks, they'll win the national championship. You could sprain a wrist trying to take notes.
Alabama coach Dennis Franchione praised senior defensive end Jarrett Johnson for his motor. Judging from Johnson's size (6-4, 287), it must be a 12-cylinder.
If you had a nickel for every opinion there is about Auburn this fall, you could buy enough toilet paper to roll Toomer's Corner. Tigers coach Tommy Tuberville teased the media, myself included, for deriding a team that tied for first in the SEC West last season. Project No. 1 is to fix an offense which, and we don't want to get too technical, stunk at the end of last season.
"Our offense will get better if we can take the ball out of our quarterback's hands," Tuberville said. "When you can't throw the ball downfield, Carnell [Williams, the tailback] is going to have a tough time running against nine or 10 guys. Speed has been our downfall at wide receiver and I think we've finally found some guys who can stretch the field."
The only people who wanted to take the ball out of the hands of quarterbacks Jason Campbell and Daniel Cobb last season were the Auburn fans. As improved as Tuberville believes the offense will be under new coordinator Bobby Petrino, there is still only one proven commodity: the tailback. Until the opener at USC on Labor Day night, I remain skeptical.
Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer revealed that defensive ends Omari Hand and Constantin Ritzmann came to him and asked if they could be marketed as "Ebony and Ivory."
On a related note, Alabama's new fight song will be Yesterday.
And let's go ahead and give Mississippi State Band on the Run.
Choose your favorite mental approach: A) Tennessee wide receiver Kelley Washington: "I definitely feel I'm the best receiver in the nation"; B) LSU tailback LaBrandon Toefield, when asked where he would rank himself: "I'm last. If you ever ask me that question, that would be my answer."
Fulmer, on Washington's high opinion of himself: "Kelley, truthfully, is very team-oriented with how hard he works. If he were a distraction, I'd have a problem."
Georgia linebacker Boss Bailey set a team vertical-jump record recently by leaping 46 inches. The only place you may -- I repeat, may -- find a fullback or guard who can handle that kind of athleticism is in the NFL.
Sports Illustrated senior writer Ivan Maisel covers college football for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
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