Even though Mississippi has no professional sports teams and not much national success in several years that has not stopped the Magnolia State from producing great pro football players.
Most people may or may not realize how many great players have come from the state of Mississippi. Over the next few installments, we will look at some of the great players that have come from the university level.
Mississippi could boast some of the greatest players to ever play their position. We will look at Hall of Fame players and players that will be in the Hall of Fame after their careers are over.
Some you will know they played in Mississippi and some might surprise you.
The first position we will look at is great quarterbacks from Mississippi in no particular order.
One note most players play for several teams in their NFL careers, the team listed is the team they are associated with most.
Charlie Conerly: New York Giants via Ole Miss Rebels
Conerly played for the University of Mississippi in 1942, but left to fight in World War II and returned from 1946-47. At Ole Miss, Conerly played tailback but, handled all of the passing duties and is considered one of the greatest players in Ole Miss football history.
Conerly was drafted in the 13th round in 1945 by the Washington Redskins. In 1948, the Giants acquired Conerly from the Redskins. Conerly played for the Giants from 1848-61.
Conerly led the Giants to NFL Championship games in 1956 and 1958-59. Conerly was able to lead the Giants to an NFL Championship in 1956.
The 1958 championship game is known as the “greatest game ever played.” Conerly was the losing quarterback. The Giants lost to the Colts in overtime 23-17. The game is credited with putting pro football on the map.
Conerly played in three Pro Bowls (1951, 1952 and 1957), passed for 19,488 yards on 1,418 completions, both Giants records at the times. Conerly still ranks 90th in passing yards and 100th in completions, and his 2,833 attempts are still 90th in NFL history.
Conerly threw for 173 touchdowns, which is still 55th in NFL history. Conerly also was the Rookie of the Year in 1948 and NFL MVP in 1959. Conerly’s No. 42 jersey was retired by the Giants after his career was finished.
Conerly played the “Marlboro Man” in television ads while he played for the Giants. Mississippi gives the Conerly Trophy annually to the best college football player in the state.
Archie Manning: New Orleans Saints via Ole Miss Rebels
If Conerly is considered one of the greatest players in Ole Miss history, Archie could be considered the greatest. Archie was fourth in the Heisman voting in 1969 and third in 1970.
Archie’s number was retired by Ole Miss and the speed limit on campus is 18 MPH in honor of his number.
Although Archie never played for a winning team his entire career, he is still beloved in New Orleans. Most fans remember the Saints did not have a good offensive line and no running game during his entire career.
Even so, Archie made two Pro Bowls (1978-79) and was the NFC Offensive Player of the Year in 1978 as well. Archie completed 2,011 passes out of 3,642 which still ranks 55th and 54th place in NFL history.
Archie still ranks 90th in touchdown passes with 125 and 64th in passing yards with 23,911 in his career. In 1988, the Saints inducted Archie into their Hall of Fame.
Eli Manning: New York Giants via Ole Miss Rebels
Eli followed his father’s footsteps and headed to Ole Miss to play football. During his time in college, Eli tied or broke 45 school records.
He won the Conerly Trophy twice and in his senior year won just about every award a quarterback could win. Eli finished third in the voting for the Heisman Trophy as well his senior year.
After his senior year at Ole Miss, Eli was drafted by the San Diego Chargers with the first pick in the 2004 draft. The Giants traded Phillip Rivers for Eli with the deal turning out to be a winner for both teams.
In his short pro career so far, Eli has accomplished something his father could never do. Eli was able to lead the Giants over a heavily New England Patriots team for a win in Super Bowl XLII. Eli was the game’s MVP after driving the Giants down the field for the game-winning score.
Eli has one Pro Bowl appearance in his career in 2009.
Early in his career, so far Eli has 42 career wins. Eli has thrown for 14,623 yards for 124th place in NFL history so far.
He also has 98 touchdown passes for 84th place in history in just five years in the NFL. Eli could be a future Hall of Famer after his career is over.
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