Eli Manning disguises as Chad Powers for Penn State walk-on tryout

The video, titled “NFL Legend Tricks College Team…😳🏈,” carries a channel description stating that two-time Super Bowl champion Eli Manning used Hollywood makeup artists to become walk-on “Chad Powers,” a figure nobody recognized, and tried out for Penn State with only head coach James Franklin aware of the setup.

The footage is drawn from Season 2 of the ESPN+ series “Eli’s Places.” Sam Cohn, writing for The Inquirer on Sept. 20, 2022, reported that the tryout took place at Holuba Hall and that Manning, then 41, presented himself as a homeschooled class of 2022 quarterback coached by his mother. Cohn described the disguise as a long, flowing blond wig, matching fake mustache and Penn State football T-shirt. David Suggs of Sporting News separately noted a prosthetic nose and heavy makeup. Players immediately doubted the freshman claim, Cohn wrote, quoting one as saying, “He’s like 32. Bro, he is not a freshman. Who is this kid?”

Franklin later told Cohn why the program agreed to the bit. “When they reached out about doing this, obviously we wanted to be a part of it. At the end of the day for me, I wanted to make sure it wasn’t going to disturb our process of what we needed to do and not become a distraction.” Suggs reported that offensive analyst Danny O’Brien was kept out of the loop. According to Sporting News, one coach watching the quarterback drills said, “We need to sign this Chad Powers kid.”

Cohn recorded the testing numbers Manning posted under the alias: a 7-foot-10 broad jump and a 5.49-second 40-yard dash. That 40 time sat well behind the 4.90 Manning ran at the 2004 NFL combine. In the same account, ESPN footage of the throwing session showed him out-throwing receivers downfield. Manning, still in character, supplied his own scouting report, which Cohn quoted: “Look up arm talent in the dictionary and you’ll see a picture of Chad. Chad Powers, you ain’t seen nothing like him. Not just good looking, I can throw it.”

Kendall Baker circulated an early clip of the segment on Sept. 19, 2022, calling the undercover tryout “absolute gold.” The same day Manning himself posted, “Chad Powers is not a man… He is a way of life!!” Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford replied to the circulating video with a joke aimed at NIL interest: “If you are looking for a NIL agency, we got you Chad!” A Sporting News reporter added another line that traveled with the footage: “Finally — a quarterback with more experience than Sean Clifford.”