Peyton Manning’s friendship with SEC coach could jeopardize Vols' chances of landing son Marshall Manning after transfer decision
News broke on Friday that Marshall Manning, the 14-year-old son of Tennessee Vols legend Peyton Manning, is set to enroll at The Baylor School in Chattanooga. Marshall has grown up in the Denver area, where Peyton remained after finishing his career with the Denver Broncos. According to Chattanooga Times Free Press sports editor Stephen Hargis, […]
News broke on Friday that Marshall Manning, the 14-year-old son of Tennessee Vols legend Peyton Manning, is set to enroll at The Baylor School in Chattanooga.
Marshall has grown up in the Denver area, where Peyton remained after finishing his career with the Denver Broncos.
According to Chattanooga Times Free Press sports editor Stephen Hargis, Marshall is going to repeat eighth grade at The Baylor School this upcoming school year, which means he'll be a class of 2030 recruit (unless he reclassifies down the road).
Marshall will likely be the most coveted recruit in the nation in a couple of years. And all eyes will obviously be on Tennessee since that's where his dad played college football.
The news that Marshall is transferring to a school in Tennessee is seemingly a good sign for the Vols — he'll get to experience life in SEC/Big Orange country on a daily basis.
But it's far from a guarantee that Marshall will land with the Volunteers. In fact, attending school in Chattanooga means he'll be just a few hours away from another SEC program that will inevitably emerge as a big threat to land Marshall — the Georgia Bulldogs.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart knows The Baylor School well (he's been known to stop by in his helicopter from time to time). And he has a very close friendship with Peyton (a friendship that actually began on a recruiting trip to Florida).
I expect Marshall's recruitment to be very similar to Peyton's (and similar to Arch Manning's, the nephew of Peyton). The Mannings are known for taking a step back and letting their kids make their own decision. I don't think Peyton will pressure Marshall to commit to Tennessee. And if Marshall decides that Athens feels like home, I think he'll have Peyton's full support. The fact that Peyton is close friends with Smart (they played in the SEC at the same time) will only add to the comfortability factor.
Back in 2021, by the way, Smart told reporters that Peyton told him to recruit Marshall.
"I got a chance to talk to Peyton before the game (Tennessee vs Georgia in Knoxville), but it was more about his son," said Smart. "He wants me to recruit his son."
Seeing Peyton's son in red and black would be a tough pill to swallow for Vols fans. And while we're a long way from that becoming a reality, it's certainly a plausible outcome in Marshall's recruitment.
The Marshall hype is just getting started. If college football fans thought the Arch Manning hype was out of control, they haven't seen anything yet.
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How is Tennessee always involved?
