Manning's First Impression of Vrabel as a Player Revealed
![Manning's First Impression of Vrabel as a Player Revealed Manning's First Impression of Vrabel as a Player Revealed](https://www.si.com/.image/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/MTc4ODU5MTI0MTUzMzk0Njg3/manningpeyton-superbowllv.jpg)
Recently discovered notebooks from Peyton Manning’s days at the University of Tennessee include some of his thoughts on opponents who have gone on to bigger and better things, including Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel.
Manning and Vrabel faced one another at the end of the 1995 season when Tennessee and Ohio State met in the Citrus Bowl. The quarterback’s impressions of the OSU defense in preparation for that contest included the belief that, “[Vrabel], he’s athletic, but he’s not powerful. We can run at him all day,” according to a Knoxville News Sentinel report.
He might have been on to something. Running back Jay Graham was named the game’s most valuable player after he rushed for 168 yards on 26 carries, including a 69-yard touchdown run in the Volunteers’ 20-14 victory.
“There’s nothing too valuable in there, but there’s a lot of sweat and time into it,” Manning told the News Sentinel about the notebooks. “… It’s been kind of fun going down memory lane.”
During Vrabel’s tenure with the Buckeyes (1993-96), he was a two-time All-American selection. He ended his career as the program’s single-season and career sack leader. He had 13 for a minus 101 yards as a senior in 1996. For his career, he tallied 36 sacks that cost opponents 245 yards.
He also ended his career at OSU as the all-time leader in tackles-for-loss with 66. A defensive end, he was named Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the year twice in 1995 and 1996, becoming
only the second player to win the award twice. The other was Wendell Bryant at Wisconsin. And in 2000, he was chosen as part of Ohio State Football’s All-Century team.
The Pittsburgh Steelers selected him in the third round of the 1997 draft, and he went on to a 14-year NFL career, which included a number of notable encounters with Manning.
For the last three seasons, Vrabel has been the Titans head coach and has led them to two playoff berths, including one appearance in the AFC Championship.
Early on, though, Manning was not overly impressed. Another player the quarterback scouted during his college career included University of Georgia coach Kirby Smart, who was a safety for the Bulldogs in those days that Manning reasoned was easily exploited in one-on-one coverage.
“That’s how I kind of learned, and I really learned the power of note-taking and writing things down,” Manning said. “I used to be very critical of myself after games, talking about, ‘You’ve got to have better footwork. You’ve got to finish that throw.’ I would compliment myself sometimes, too, and say, ‘Good discipline here. Good decision.’ But I always felt like I could do better and improve.”
Manning, who was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, has asked for the notebooks – including his early impression of Vrabel – to be preserved for the UT archives.