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Peyton Manning still irked by Heisman trophy snub

October 7, 2015

Super Bowl MVP , five time NFL MVP ,Comeback Player of the year , and 14 time pro bowler are all on Peyton Manning‘s first-ballot hall of fame resume. But something is missing that Manning will never get another chance at; The Heisman Trophy. And that bothers him.

Way back in 1997 Peyton Manning finished as the runner-up in the Heisman trophy voting only behind Charles Woodson, who Manning and the Broncos happen to face on Sunday in Oakland.

Rk	Player	School	Class	Pos	1st	2nd	3rd	Tot	Summary
1	Charles Woodson	Michigan	JR	DB	433	209	98	1815
2	Peyton Manning	Tennessee	SR	QB	281	263	174	1543	287 Cmp, 477 Att, 3819 Yds, 36 TD, 11 Int
3	Ryan Leaf*	Washington State	JR	QB	70	205	241	861	227 Cmp, 410 Att, 3968 Yds, 34 TD, 11 Int
4	Randy Moss*	Marshall	SO	WR	17	56	90	253	96 Rec, 1820 Yds, 19.0 Avg, 26 TD
5	Curtis Enis	Penn State	JR	RB	3	18	20	65	228 Att, 1363 Yds, 6.0 Avg, 19 TD
5	Ricky Williams	Texas	JR	RB	3	18	20	65	279 Att, 1893 Yds, 6.8 Avg, 25 TD
7	Tim Dwight	Iowa	SR	RB	5	3	11	32	39 Rec, 653 Yds, 16.7 Avg, 8 TD
8	Cade McNown*	UCLA	JR	QB	0	7	12	26	189 Cmp, 312 Att, 3116 Yds, 24 TD, 6 Int
9	Tim Couch	Kentucky	SO	QB	0	5	12	22	363 Cmp, 547 Att, 3884 Yds, 37 TD, 19 Int
10	Amos Zereoue*	West Virginia	SO	RB	3	1	10	21	281 Att, 1589 Yds, 5.7 Avg, 18 TD

Woodson is the last defensive player to win the Heisman when he upset Manning, the favorite, in 1997.

In his Wednesday presser, Manning was asked about himself, Woodson and Matt Hasselbeck, (the final three active players from the 1998 NFL draft) all starting last Sunday. “It’s a good thing”Manning said. “We’re still hanging in there. Woodson has had two, what really should have been, game saving interceptions. It should have probably helped them win the Chicago game and it definitely helped them seal the Cleveland game. He’s making a lot of plays. He’s the leader of that defense back there. It’s a real credit to him to be playing at a high level like he is.”

Manning was then asked to look back at his Heisman-less season and see if he had any fond memories of the experience. “No not necessarily” Manning replied shortly. 17 years later it still hurts. Manning is typically well versed in any question he is asked, quick with a politically correct response, but you could tell he’s still licking the wounds he suffered in 1997.