Manning Still Not Saying

Tennessee boosters are so eager to persuade quarterback Peyton Manning to stay in school for his senior year and not enter the NFL draft that they resort to drastic measures when they see him on campus or in the street.

“A little begging, a little crying,” Manning said Thursday of the tactics used by Volunteer fans. “They might get a little baby involved. It’s really flattering. When they get babies involved, it gets kind of tough.”

Manning, who finished eighth in the Heisman Trophy voting--two places lower than he did last year--is delaying his decision until after ninth-ranked Tennessee faces 11th-ranked Northwestern in the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day. Before arriving in Orlando, Fla., he spent five days at home in New Orleans and didn’t discuss it with his father, Archie, a standout on some terrible New Orleans Saints teams.

“I was hoping to get a T-shirt made up when I came down here saying, ‘I don’t know,’ ” said Manning, who averaged 298.8 passing yards per game. “Nothing’s going to happen until I get home from the bowl game. I’ve got some questions I want to ask and some research I want to do before I make my decision.”