49ers’ Mullens, Giants’ Manning have met before
Nick Mullens and Eli Manning are both quarterbacks who played college football in Mississippi.
And that’s about where the similarities end.
Mullens, 23, is an undrafted free agent with one career start. Manning, 37, is a former No. 1 overall pick with two Super Bowl rings.
Put it this way: Mullens has thrown 22 career passes and Manning once started 210 consecutive games.
Still, Monday night, when Mullens and the 49ers host the Giants and Manning, won’t mark the first time the disparate QBs have shared the same field.
In 2016, before Mullens’ senior season at Southern Miss, he was invited to the prestigious, invitation-only Manning Passing Academy at Nicholls State in Thibodaux, La. The four-day clinic is hosted by Manning, his brother, Peyton, and their dad, Archie, who, like Eli, was a legendary quarterback at Ole
Miss.
At one point, Eli Manning joined a workout in which Mullens was participating.
“To see how he moves in the pocket — he has very quick feet and is just very smooth,” Mullens said. “I definitely remember just sitting there and watching him throw. I took that all in.”
Mullens and Manning are likely at opposite ends of their careers.
It’s possible Manning’s 15th season could be the last in a career that will merit Hall-of-Fame consideration. He’s absorbed plenty of criticism for New York’s 1-7 start and there has been speculation he could be benched at some point. On Tuesday, head coach Pat Shurmur had to confirm to reporters that Manning would remain the starter for Monday’s game.
Meanwhile, it’s not clear where Mullens’ career is headed after his sensational debut in a 34-3 win over the woeful Raiders. He could be anything from a one-hit wonder to a QB who proves he’s starting-caliber over the season’s final seven games.
Mullens completed 16 of 22 passes for 262 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions against Oakland. And other big numbers have followed: On Twitter, for example, he has more than 34,000 followers — 28,000 more than he had before his first NFL start.
“Obviously, you get a lot more attention on social media,” Mullens said when asked how his life had changed since Thursday night. “… I don’t necessarily (care about) that. But that’s part of the job. But I don’t really worry about the things that don’t exactly matter.”
Mullens’ inexperience led to some light moments in the offensive huddle last week.
After head coach Kyle Shanahan delivered a play call to Mullens, who has a radio headset in his helmet, Shanahan would offer his new QB tips on what to look for on the upcoming play. The extra chatter interrupted Mullens, who forgot he was dealing with a one-way radio headset.
“Coach Shanahan would talk in his ear while Nick’s trying to call the play,” tight end George Kittle said. “And Nick would be like ‘Can you stop talking?’ — even though (Shanahan) can’t hear him. That’s really funny.”
Added Kittle: “It’s a good huddle. He took good command of it and also got us a couple of laughs. It was awesome.”
Mullens’ performance was good enough to inspire a postgame phone call from Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre, a fellow Southern Miss alum who has developed a friendship with Mullens.
Their connection prompted a tongue-in-cheek question to Mullens: Do you like the Mannings better than Favre?
The young QB fielded it like a veteran.
“I’m not going to answer that,” Mullens said, smiling. “I like all successful quarterbacks. I admire them.”