The Tennessee Volunteers legend says family comes before anything.
The No. 1-ranked Texas Longhorns will play in another ranked nationally-televised matchup as they begin SEC play Saturday afternoon at No. 14 Tennessee.
Arch Manning is under center and off to a strong start to his fourth season in Austin as one of college sports' most recognizable figures.
The NFL-bound expectations have not quieted since Manning joined the Longhorns, and they've gotten especially louder as he's taken over as the starting quarterback.
This weekend, however, will put an especially bright spotlight on Manning's name.
Traveling to Knoxville means Manning will play inside the stadium where his uncle, Peyton, starred for the Volunteers as a Heisman contender from 1994 to 1997.
ESPN will broadcast College GameDay from outside Neyland Stadium before the 11 a.m. CT kickoff. The network has not yet announced who will be the show's weekly guest picker making game predictions.
Some noise on the internet has pinned Peyton as the obvious choice for representing both sides.
But who would he pick, his nephew's Longhorns or his own alma mater?
"One of the kids was asking me earlier who I was going to go for," Peyton said at the annual Manning Passing Academy event this summer. "He said he would go for his school over his relative, and I said, 'Well, you and I are different."
Tennessee, like many of the country's top programs, was in a heated recruitment battle for Arch, who was the top-ranked prospect in the 2023 high school class. The Volunteers and Ole Miss Rebels - alma mater of grandfather Archie and uncle Eli Manning - thought their history with the family might've given them an upper hand.
Arch trailed his own path to the Lone Star State. His famous relatives have show unwavering support since his commitment, and that remains the case when Arch prepares to face one of his family's own.
"Nothing's more important than your family," Peyton Manning continued. "Obviously it's going to be a huge SEC game. ... I love my university and my alma mater - pull for them unconditionally. But nothing's more important to me than my family. When you have a nephew playing, I pull very hard for him every single Saturday.
"So, that's pretty much a no-brainer that you're pulling for your nephew to play well, but everybody knows pretty strongly where my loyalties lie."
