It’s been nearly 25 years since Peyton Manning last stepped foot in a University of Tennessee classroom. Earlier this week, he returned — sort of.
The former Broncos quarterback made a surprise appearance in a UT online class, with Professor John Haas first introducing him as “Mr. Thompson” before chastising him for being late for class. Manning went on to apologize, confessing he hasn’t been to class since 1996 or ’97, then gave words of encouragement to students who have been unable to attend classes on campus due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The university recorded Manning’s cameo and posted it on its YouTube channel:
“I realize this is probably not the ideal way you guys expected to spend your senior year,” Manning said.