Even Eli Manning is impressed by Matt Corral

Oct. 22—OXFORD — For all the great things Eli Manning did during his time wearing an Ole Miss jersey, even he has to admit redshirt junior Matt Corral is doing things he couldn't have dreamed of.

Manning, of course, rewrote the Rebels' record book during his stories college football career, throwing for a school-record 10,119 yards and 81 touchdowns. He was drafted first overall in the 2004 NFL Draft and played 17 seasons for the New York Giants, winning a pair of Super Bowls.

He will have his No. 10 jersey retired at halftime Saturday during the LSU game, joining only his father Archie and Chucky Mullins as Ole Miss players to have their numbers retired.

But as he watched Corral run for 195 yards in No. 12 Ole Miss' 31-26 win at Tennessee last weekend, all he could do was admire the skillset No. 2 possesses.

"If I rushed it 30 times, I'd be in bed for about a week," Manning said with a laugh.

Corral is in the upper echelon of college football players in 2021, ranking third nationally with 363 yards of offense per game. He has thrown 14 touchdowns with just one interception and run for another eight scores. He has jumped to the front or near front of every Heisman Trophy list as the maestro of the No. 5 scoring offense in college football.

Manning knows a little something about Heisman Trophy campaigns himself, finishing third in voting for the 2003 award behind Oklahoma quarterback Jason White and Pittsburgh wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. Manning led Ole Miss to a 10-3 record and No. 13 ranking in the final AP Poll that year, capping off the season with a victory over Oklahoma State in the Cotton Bowl.

Manning's only pearls of wisdom to Corral as the season continues are rather simple — focus on the task at hand, not on any individual trophies. If he does that, everything else falls into place. Manning never worried about the Heisman hype or anything else surrounding his college career; Corral shouldn't, either.

"I would say, for Matt, his focus is just on winning games. Now that Alabama's lost, there's a chance to win the west," Manning said. "Keep playing and just win it, each and every game, and all the Heisman stuff just kind of takes care of itself, if you're playing well, you're winning games, you're doing your job. That's not, I wouldn't think, the main focus for him.

"He's had a great season. He's played so well."