Peyton Manning is widely known for his attention to detail and his organizational tendencies. Whether it’s game-planning for an outing during his Hall of Fame NFL career or broadcasting Monday Night Football in his television role alongside his brother, Manning’s preparation has become a cemented characteristic of who he is fundamentally.
That’s why it’s so funny to hear how his brother, Eli Manning, would prank his collegiate recruiting process at just 11-years-old.
While speaking to the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast earlier this week, former New York quarterback Eli Manning talked shared a story about the brotherly relationship that the two shared when Peyton was preparing to embark on his collegiate journey. At this point, Peyton had not decided on a school yet, but Eli says that his brother left no stone unturned while gathering information on the schools interested in him.
“He talked to every single coach,” Eli said about Peyton’s recruitment. “He’s probably the No. 1 recruit in the country. Quarterback. Went to visits to Notre Dame, Michigan, Florida State at the time, Tennessee. Talked to every single coach. There was not one school that from the get-go, he was like, no, I’m definitely not going there. Everything’s in consideration.”
After Peyton’s countless meetings with the coaches, Eli says that his brother would recap his conversations on a personal tape recorder. That’s when the 11-year-old little brother decided to have some fun with things.
“I remember going through it one time, I would sit there listening to it,” Eli said. “He would leave and I would all of a sudden record – he still has it somewhere, he played it for me one time because he goes back and listens to them to this day. He still go back and listen to the tape. And all of a sudden he’s listening to one and I pop on, I’m like 11 years old, and you just hear a, ‘*fart noise* Ooo, that’s a smelly one.’ And I run away. But that was our relationship.”
More From RTI: Opposing SEC Coach Names Tennessee The Toughest Stadium in the Conference
Fortunately for Tennessee fans, Eli didn’t record over or interfere with the tape that Peyton took of his conversations with Phillip Fulmer and the Volunteers organization.
After success collegiate and NFL careers, the Manning brothers can now be seen on ESPN’s Monday Night ManningCast during the NFL season. The two give a different broadcast for select Monday Night Football games throughout the season, filled with brotherly banter and celebrity interviews from the sports and pop culture worlds.
Check out the full clip from Bussin’ With The Boys below:
