Tennessee football: What took so long to name Peyton Manning an SEC legend?

So this is why Terrell Owens wanted to thumb his nose at the NFL Hall of Fame after finally being inducted in. It all makes sense. Honestly, legendary Tennessee football quarterback Peyton Manning should share the same sentiment.

Manning was the Vol named on this year’s SEC Legends Class, which was released Thursday. The class will be honored during the weekend of the SEC Championship game, which is set for Saturday, Dec. 3 in Atlanta.

Ironically, Eli Manning goes in with the Ole Miss Rebels the same way Peyton does with Tennessee football. However, that actually leads to the biggest question surrounding all of this. What took so long for Peyton Manning to go?

Remember, Eli Manning’s final year was a full six years after Peyton’s, so it’s weird for them to go at the same time. Beyond that, though, look at the former Vols who have managed to be a member of the class before Manning.

Most recently, Darwin Walker was named to the 2019 class. Chad Clifton was in the 2017 class. Neither was ever an All-American, and both graduated after Manning. Deon Grant was in the 2016 class. How did these guys get in there before Manning?

That’s not to knock any of them, as they all had a hand in the Vols’ 1998 national championship. However, winning that can’t be the only barometer. You have to look at the overall picture, and on that front, Manning dominates.

When Manning graduated, he was the all-time career passing yards and wins leader in the SEC and second in passing touchdowns. He led Tennessee football to the 1997 SEC Championship, and he did it with a historic performance in that game, throwing four touchdowns passes.

How could anybody look at that and think Manning wasn’t one of the biggest legends in the conference’s history. If you take out the national championship factor, Manning probably should have been invited back the very next year.

Al Wilson and Peerless Price getting in there before Manning makes sense. Price balled out in two, not just one, SEC Championship games, and Wilson was the heart and soul of the Vols’ 1998 national championship team. Wilson was named to the 2010 class and Price the 2012 class.

Nobody else in recent history belongs over Manning, though. Even other greats like John Henderson and Eric Berry, who will almost certainly get in, came after Manning, which is why it’s ridiculous that it took so long to put him in.

When the SEC legends class first began in 1994, plenty of Vols who hadn’t played for them in at least 25 years made the list throughout the 1990s. However, that’s because they all finished playing 25 years before the class began.

There is no SEC legend from Tennessee football who played for the team from 1990 onward who took as long as Manning to join one of the classes. Heck, even his predecessor, Heath Shuler, only needed 16 years, as he joined in 2009.

As a result, the real story here is not Manning, a five-time MVP, receiving another honor. The real story is why it took him so long to receive that honor in the first place, and honestly, there’s no great answer. How do you reach the NFL Hall of Fame before being part of this class?