Peyton Manning says J.J. McCarthy didn’t respond to his text

What if Peyton Manning texted you? Would you think it was for real or a prank? Maybe you would think it was like one of those political texts from a former president.

At 21 years old Michigan quarterback prospect J.J. McCarthy got a text from NFL Hall of Famer “Peyton Manning.” Except it really was the former star quarterback of the Denver Broncos and the youngster just didn’t believe it.

“I texted him the day after the national championship, I never met him but we invited him to our football camp and (Jim) Harbaugh wouldn’t let him miss a workout so he didn’t get to go. So I just reached out and said, ‘Hey, man, congratulations, wish you the best of luck in your next chapter,'” Manning said on 104.3 The Fan’s Stokley and Josh. “I guess he thought it was a prank, he never called me back so I texted him Monday from the same number.  And he’s like, ‘Oh, it really is you, Yeah, I thought that somebody was pranking me.’ And so I just kind of wished him luck and he asked me some questions. So he called me back and he was impressive to talk to.”

Peyton Manning tells @joshuadover & @bstokley14 that he had a conversation with J.J. McCarthy this week:

“Impressive to talk to. I know Denver’s very interested in him. It sounded like this is a place he’d love to come to.”

More from @Shapalicious here: https://t.co/UOMEYbGuDN pic.twitter.com/0OxMrwIhN2

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) April 23, 2024

Manning led Tennesee to Citrus Bowl wins and a Gator Bowl victory while in college before going first overall in the 1998 NFL Draft to the Colts. McCarthy had more team success at Michigan than Manning did for the Volunteers, leading the Wolverines to a national title this winter.

McCarthy wasn’t eye-popping in that game, completing 10-18 passes for 140 yards and zero touchdowns. He didn’t throw an interception, but the ground game carried the Wolverines with four total touchdowns. On the season, McCarthy threw for nearly 3,000 yards to go along with 22 TDs and just four picks. Michigan finished a perfect 15-0. He only finished 10th in Heisman voting, to Manning’s second-place finish in 1997.

Stil it seems as though the two have struck up a little relationship, and perhaps it will continue with a chance of McCarthy being selected to where Manning lives—Denver

“I know Denver is very interested in him and it sounded like a place he’d love to come to but it’s a little bit out of his control,” Manning told Denver Sports over the air.

Denver is no longer the favorite to get McCarthy with the cycle pushing the Michigan man up boards the closer we’ve gotten to Thursday’s first round. ESPN wrote on Tuesday that Bo Nix may be the guy for Denver at No. 12.