Peyton Manning: ‘Honored’ to have quarterbacked Marvin Harrison

It was Peyton Manning’s first NFL game –– 1998 preseason Game 1 against the Seahawks.

Seattle’s larger-than-life defensive tackles Sam Adams and Cortez Kennedy had the rookie simulating being blind-sided in his hotel room.

And as the future Hall of Fame quarterback started stepping on to the field, a coach tells him to have a pass play ready to go to, just in case the headsets go down.

Play 1: run. Play 2: again, run. Play 3: Headsets go down.

Manning’s first career pass –– a three-step drop that he knew he “probably couldn’t screw it up too bad.”

“And so I called my own play. I threw this little 6-yard pass to Marvin Harrison, and he runs 48 yards for a touchdown,” Manning said. “And I remember thinking this NFL is easy. All you have to do is to throw short passes to Marvin Harrison, and he’ll run for a touchdown. And for the most part, that’s what he did.”

They prolific passing duo would end up hooking up 112 times for touchdowns –– when they counted –– from 1998 to 2008, the most by any quarterback-receiver combination in NFL history.

Oh, and they have the most completions and passing yards records too.

Manning will watch his on-field partner don the gold jacket this weekend, entering the Pro Football Hall of Fame –– alongside the duo’s longtime head coach Tony Dungy.

The football world will celebrate Harrison’s game day accomplishments, but it’s what the wide receiver did between Sundays that Manning told 104.3 The Fan’s “C.J. and Stokley” had him most impressed.

“As special as it was to watch Marvin Harrison play on Sundays and do his thing on the field on game day, I always thought it was just a joy to watch him practice,” Manning said. “The way he worked in practice, it was no surprise that he was going to be a Hall of Fame receiver.”

Manning called it an honor to have been the Hall of Famer’s quarterback, and that those he’d been around a lot of players who worked hard, “being around Marvin was special.”

“He worked hard at his craft. He only went against a starting defensive back in practice. He refused to go against a scout team defensive back,” Manning said.

Harrison refused to come out of games, “never tapped his helment” and told coaches he needed a breather, Manning said.

He took pride in practicing, Manning said. He helped set tempo for players in practice, and he “wanted to be in there”

“God forbid if you changed the play,” Manning said, “and the ball was probably going to him and you throw it to someone else, look out.”

But don’t call Harrison selfish, Manning said.

“He thought for us to win he needed to be a part of it, and he was right,” Manning said. “So I never thought it was selfish. I thought it was just competitive, and I thought he helped make everybody else on the team better.”

In the end, the Colts would win 117 regular season games with Manning and Harrison, and one Super Bowl.

And the first step in the duo’s reunion in Canton, Ohio, starts this weekend –– and likely will be completed with a first-ballot election in five years for Manning.

Follow 104.3 The Fan digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @johnnyhart7.