Disguised Eli Manning Hilariously Tries Out for Penn State Football as Walk-On

Former Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning is enjoying his retirement from pro football.

He co-hosts the Monday Night Football “Manning Cast” with his brother, Peyton, and also stars in “Eli’s Places” on ESPN+. In his latest episode of “Eli’s Places,” the former New York Giants QB goes undercover at Penn State for a football walk-on tryout. 

The result is comedy as only Eli could bring.

Wearing a fake nose and a long-haired blonde wig, Manning hilariously plays the role of Chad Powers — a Nittany Lion freshman who has been homeschooled in high school. 

He reports as a homeschooler he has only played pickup football — and was coached by his mother who served as his coach and teacher. 

Powers says his mom wasn’t a good teacher — but she could coach football well. “She wasn’t very smart,” Powers said. “She was a good coach, though.”

In the video, Manning is seen running the 40-yard dash, hyping himself up as he goes. He moves on to passing drills and quips, “If Brady can play until he’s 44, Chad can play until he’s 26.”

Eli Manning went undercover at Penn State as walk-on "Chad Powers" and it's absolute gold. pic.twitter.com/jaEYqBRcMh

— Kendall Baker (@kendallbaker) September 19, 2022

Manning doesn’t have any college eligibility left, but Chad Powers looked pretty good out there and might be just what the Nittany Lions need.

Evelyn Van Pelt

Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn’s love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.