CANTON, Ohio – The Colts are coming to Canton this weekend.
Tony Dungy and Marvin Harrison are the reason why.
Peyton Manning and Brandon Stokley are flying in together.
Jeff Saturday, Ryan Diem, Dallas Clark, Gary Brackett, Dwight Freeney, Reggie Wayne, Edgerrin James will be in attendance.
Robert Mathis and Adam Vinatieri will be some of the last to arrive on Saturday afternoon.
It's the reunion before *the *reunion, this November at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Manning wasn't going to miss this moment for anything.
"To have two people that have been a huge part of my football life going in…I'm not sure it gets much better than that," Manning said earlier this week on 1070 The Fan.
"I've really had a chance this week to reflect even more about all of their accomplishments and their impact on me. It's been a lot of fun just to reflect on how awesome those guys were. It's very special. I'm pumped about it."
Here are more thoughts from Manning on Dungy and Harrison, when he joined “The Ride With JMV” and “Mike And Mike” on Thursday:
Manning on Marvin Harrison:
"When you just read some of his numbers out loud, it takes a minute for it to sink in, just to think about how many catches, how many touchdowns, how consistent he was over his career. The thing I always say about Marvin, as great as he was on Sunday's, he was even better during the weeks of practice. It was a joy to play with him, but it was absolutely an honor to practice with him and watch him practice. He always went full speed, always went against a starting defensive back, refused to go against a scout team rookie. He never came out. He never tapped the top of his helmet to take a break. Not in practice. Not in a game. He could run all day long, as fast as anyone in the NFL."
"It always bothered me how he was in such good shape. We had this nutritionist telling us all what to eat. I was like, 'Why doesn't Marvin get any of that. Marvin eats junk and is chiseled and can run all day?' He ate Philadelphia Tastykake's all the time. His body fat was like the same as a cadaver, like 0 percent body fat. That's what made Marvin so special. You combine that kind of talent with that type of work ethic, that just sent a message to the rest of the team. Reggie gets there, sees how Marvin works, that rubs off on Reggie. All the guys see that. So Marvin has as much to give credit to, for setting that tempo."
"It was kind of that sixth sense that Marvin and I seemed to have early. We really worked hard. We really put a lot of time in during the offseasons. We used to go out there before games and spend a lot of times after practice. It means everything when you have that trust and you know where a guy is going to go without him having to tell you beforehand, or without having to talk about it in the huddle."
"My very first preseason game, on the third play of the game, I threw my very first pass (a six-yard slant and then Harrison took off 48 yards for a touchdown). I remember thinking, 'This NFL's not so hard. All you do is throw it to Marvin Harrison and you'll throw a touchdown.' And for the most part that was pretty true throughout my career because we threw a bunch of them. But I leaned on Marvin early. He was a third-year player when I was a rookie. And you look for a veteran to lean on so I leaned on Marshall Faulk and Marvin Harrison."
Manning on Tony Dungy:
"To have the chance to play for him is one of the great honors of my life. A unique, different style of leadership. What you saw on the sidelines was how he was all the time—even keel, calm, cool. In the fourth quarter of the AFC Championship against the Patriots, he looked just the same like he did in the first quarter of a preseason game. That was just a very calming effect on everybody."
"He was always telling us on Tuesday's, get out in the community. That's how he was doing it. As players, you were going to do it as well."
"A lot of small little quotations, philosophies I used to write them down. He used to say, 'No excuses, no explanations. We are looking for expectations and execution.' These are things I still apply to every day life. He just made a huge impact on me."
"For players that played for him, it's a lucky fraternity and a unique fraternity. All of those guys have that type of feeling. If they need some advice or something (still today), he will always take the call. Sometimes people will ask me, 'Hey, can I get coach Dungy's number?' So I'll check with him. Never once has he said, 'I don't think so. If someone is looking for me, I'll be glad to talk with them and help them in any way.' That's who he is."
"I don't think anyone ever needs to stopped being coached. I still call him in coach. When I call him or text him, I still call him, 'Coach.' Once a coach, always a coach and he will always be my coach."
"He treated you like such a professional. He was great about knowing when to put the pads on, when to take them off, when to take are of your legs. He treated you like a grown individual that, boy, come Sundays, you just didn't want to let him down."
"He never raised his voice, never used any kind of language, but because you loved him so much, you played hard for him. It was a very effective way of leading and he got a lot of guys to follow. I was just really honored and lucky to have the chance to play for him."
