"It wasn't one thing": When Peyton Manning made a massive decision to stay at University of Tennessee

Peyton Manning made one of the most memorable decisions in the history of Tennessee football in 1997. After three seasons with the Volunteers, where he had been arguably the best player in college football, the quarterback was in the dilemma of making a draft decision.

Manning was projected as the first-overall pick in the 1997 NFL draft. However, the signal-caller decided to forgo the draft and return to Tennessee for his senior season. He held a press conference session to announce the decision, noting his reasons for staying in the program.

“I've thoroughly researched the situation and gathered a great deal of information,” Peyton Manning said (Timestamp 0:55). “I've asked dozens of people what they thought and I prayed a lot about it also. I knew I wanted to be 100% sure of my decision.

“Somebody asked me this morning: What was the one thing that helped sway my opinion and helped me decide? Well, it wasn't one thing. It was just like when I signed here, it was just sort of a feeling. I made up my mind, I don't expect to ever look back. I'm going to stay at the University of Tennessee.”

Peyton Manning explains his decision to stay

In his statement at the press conference session before officially declaring his return, Peyton Manning explained how he arrived at his decision. The quarterback cited the good times he had at Tennessee as a college football player.

I've had an incredible experience in the University of Tennessee with all the people I've met, learned from and become friends with here,” Manning said (Timestamp 0:27). “College football has been great to me. So are the people and the coaches and the players that I played with the past three years.”

The allure of the NFL was highly intriguing to Manning, especially as it allowed him to carry his father's legacy. Nonetheless, he wanted to make a decision that was going to be the best for him, which was what he eventually did.

“I also want to have great experience in pro football. As difficult as it's been, I know I couldn't make a bad decision. But I knew whatever decision I made had to be my own decision and nobody else's decision. I want to thank people close to me, especially my mother and father for allowing that to happen."

The decision to return turned out to be a great one for Peyton Manning. He went on to have his best season at Tennessee, throwing for 3,819 yards and 36 touchdowns. He finished second in the Heisman voting, narrowly losing out to Michigan’s Charlie Woodson.