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A who’s who of college football quarterbacks were in Thibodaux this week to serve as counselors for the Manning Passing Academy at Nicholls State University.
On paper, the gunslingers’ job was simple: Lend advice to the young passers enrolled in the camp to polish their crafts.
But in reality, the counselors were soaking it all in just like everyone else.
With college football less than a month and a half away from getting started, multiple quarterbacks admitted that they shed the role of teacher and become a student when Peyton and Eli Manning take a turn tossing the ball around the field.
“The counselor thing goes out of the window when they are speaking,” Texas quarterback David Ash said with a smile this week at the camp. “Anytime Peyton and Eli are around, you are keeping your ears open and your eyes peeled and you’re definitely trying to learn something. And ultimately you do learn things here. You learn a lot seeing how they work, and by watching them, it’s easy to tell why they are where they are.”
A couple dozen college football quarterbacks turn out to assist at the camp each year.
Because the event hosts sometimes more than 1,000 kids, their assistance is needed across the more than 20 practice fields that are carved up and down Nicholls’ campus.
Peyton and Eli make their rounds and give attention to all of the kids who enroll at the annual academy, but it is physically impossible for them to be at every place at one time.
But when they do make their rounds and stop at a practice session, nearly everyone involved said that the role of counselor quickly becomes that of a pupil.
“Those guys are maybe the two best quarterbacks in the world,” Mississippi State quarterback Tyler Russell said. “I think that everyone sitting in this room today will be able to say at the end of this thing that we left here knowing a little bit more than we did before we walked in the door. That’s the beauty of it. We get to share what we know in a setting that also allows us to learn more ourselves.”
But in addition to learning from the two pros, the counselors said they also love to learn from one another.
Alabama quarterback and two-time national champion A.J. McCarron said he and Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel have spent quality time together this weekend to try and push one another to be better.
Manziel wanted to absorb some of the winning formula that has pushed McCarron to two-straight national championships.
McCarron wanted to get learn from one of the most dynamic players in the history of college football.
“He’s just a great guy,” Manziel said of McCarron. “And he’s a good quarterback on top of that. He’s lead his team to two national championships. … I enjoy being around him. He’s someone you can learn a lot from. All of these guys here are.”
Missouri quarterback James Franklin agreed with Johnny Football’s statement and said it’s always good to spend time with your peers.
“The SEC is the best conference in football,” he said. “When you can learn a little bit here and there from all of the best players in our league, it’s a winning situation for all of us that make the decision to come and work at the camp.”
Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron fires a pass during this weekend’s Manning Passing Academy. McCarron is one of several top college football quarterbacks to attend the camp as counselor. The counselors tout they learn from the quarterbacks all week.
