Peyton and Eli Manning hosted Randy Moss as one of their guests on Monday night’s episode of ESPN’s “Manning Cast” during the Buccaneers-Saints game. When Moss made an appearance, the topic turned to his college recruitment, which included a trip to Tennessee on official business.
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The 1990s saw some of the biggest college football stars, including Peyton Manning and Randy Moss. They were both Heisman Trophy finalists in 1997 while playing for Tennessee and Marshall, respectively, but if not for some unfortunate tardiness, they might have been teammates in Knoxville.
Unlike his father Archie, who played quarterback for the Ole Miss Rebels, Manning was a star quarterback for the University of Tennessee Volunteers under head coach Phillip Fulmer. It was a wise choice, as Manning went on to become Tennessee’s all-time leading passer, started 39 of 45 games, and set records for career victories in the Southeastern Conference.
On Monday night’s ManningCast, when asked by Peyton’s younger brother Eli, Moss tells the story of why he decided against signing with Tennessee.
Randy Moss claims Peyton Manning disrupted his recruitment to Tennessee
With a smile, Moss described Manning as “not punctual“. “That is why I decided against joining the Volunteer program. Peyton Manning was staying at a family member’s house in Virginia when I left for Tennessee, that was all I knew. He’s making the effort to return only to seek you out. I thought, Well, why isn’t he here now to get me if he’s driving here just to recruit me?”
.@RandyMoss says Peyton Manning messed up his recruitment to Tennessee 😂
“That was the reason I didn’t become a Volunteer, Peyton was late.” pic.twitter.com/BlohotL6P6
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) December 6, 2022
Manning quickly clarified that he was visiting Ashley, his then-girlfriend and future wife, who was a student at Virginia. He added that he had left at three in the morning to return to Knoxville and find Moss.
“We are going to throw it here on every play, I told Randy,” Manning recalled. “You’ll be joining the NFL in three years. He wasn’t picking it up. His destination was Notre Dame. But I gave him my best pitch.”
Despite not being able to play for the Fighting Irish due to legal issues resulting from a racially charged altercation in high school, Moss eventually signed with Notre Dame. The native of Rand, West Virginia, and a graduate of Dupont High School first attended Florida State before transferring to Marshall.
With the Thundering Herd, where he had 174 receptions for 3,529 yards and 54 touchdowns over two seasons, Moss was a two-time All-American.
