Eli Manning to Have No. 10 Jersey Retired by Ole Miss During 2020 Season

Ole Miss announced Monday that former quarterback Eli Manning would have his No. 10 jersey retired by the school.  

He will be just the third player to receive the honor, following his father Archie Manning (18) and Chucky Mullins (38). 

"I owe so much credit to the coaches and all the wonderful teammates that I had here during my time in Oxford that put in all the hard work right alongside of me," Manning said of the honor. "It'll be special to see the number go up there next to my dad and Chucky Mullins."

"On behalf of our entire family, we're all very excited about this," his father added. "We can go way back and remember how excited we all were when Eli decided to come to Ole Miss. Those were five wonderful years for us. We're very proud of Eli's career in Oxford and very indebted to Keith and the athletic department and everyone else responsible for retiring No. 10. It's really special."

Manning, 39, played four seasons at Ole Miss (2000-03), throwing for 10,119 yards, 81 touchdowns and 35 interceptions while completing 60.8 percent of his passes. His passing yards, completions (829) and passing attempts (1,363) are all school records. 

He won the Maxwell Award and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award as a senior, leading Ole Miss to a 10-3 record and a win in the Cotton Bowl.

He went on to be the top overall pick in the 2004 NFL draft by the San Diego Chargers, who traded him to the New York Giants in a deal that saw fellow 2004 draftee Philip Rivers go to the Chargers. Manning would go on to have a long and successful career in New York, winning two Super Bowl titles. 

Whether Manning will one day be an NFL Hall of Famer remains an interesting debate. But he'll live on forever in Ole Miss lore as one of just three players to have his jersey retired.