Hempfield grad earns invitation to exclusive Manning Passing Academy

It started with a simple email. Then, a text message.

All of a sudden, Justin Sliwoski had a front-row seat to not only meet the Mannings — Peyton, Eli and their father, Archie — but also to get instruction from the the former star quarterbacks.

Sliwoski, a redshirt junior quarterback at St. Francis (Pa.) and a Hempfield graduate, was one of 24 signal callers invited to the Manning Passing Academy, set for June 23-26 at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, La.

Once he heard about the academy, Sliwoski’s interest was piqued and he took a shot in the dark.

“I sent an email to a very general address for the camp,” Sliwoski said. “There was no formal application. Sure enough, I got a text from Archie Manning saying I was being considered for the camp, but it was going to be difficult due to the number of returning guys coming back.”

A week went by, and Sliwoski began to move on. Then, he audibled.

“Out of the blue, when I was at school, (Archie Manning) personally called me and we had a 30- to 45-minute conversation. We talked football and talked about my season. He then invited me to the camp and got to talk all the details about the event.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience getting the chance to work with Archie, Peyton and Eli.”

Manning told Sliwoski the selection process is thorough and that he uses his contacts to vet potential invitees.

“He told me that while there’s obviously bigger-school guys like the current Heisman winner, he does look for FCS QBs and guys he likes,” Sliwoski said. “My high efficiency rating in FCS and stats that I had stuck out to him.”

All of the expenses are paid for by the camp counselors, including a flight, lodging, food and other transportation.

Only Sliwoski and Dartmouth’s Nick Howard were invitees from NCAA Football Championship Subdivision schools.

He will learn among some big names in the college game.

Other invitees include Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young of Alabama, Pitt’s Kedon Slovis, Sean Clifford of Penn State, Oregon’s Ty Thompson and South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler.

“I was honored to be selected for the event, being with the big-name quarterbacks attending,” said Sliwoski, who took part in the Red Flash’s spring game Thursday. “This will give me a chance to come back to St. Francis with some qualities from their game.”

Sliwoski (6-foot-2, 200 pounds) led the Northeast Conference last season in pass efficiency (159.6) and was second in completion percentage (63.8).

A Pitt transfer, he threw for 1,253 yards and 12 touchdowns against one interception.

Sliwoski said he is interested to see how Peyton and Eli Manning “operate and command the football.”

“Some of the college quarterbacks have won national championships and will be first-round picks, so I’m going to take anything I can from them and bring that back here to help us succeed at St. Francis,” he said.

The experience is one part career changing, two parts valuable instruction to Sliwoski.

“Just the opportunity to have workouts with Peyton and Eli will be an unbelievable experience,” he said. “From a networking prospective and the people I will meet down there, these are some of the most notable people in the sport. Who knows what one relationship from this can lead to? Also just learning from some of the best football minds and being able to improve my game for next season.

“This is honestly a dream come true.”