OXFORD, Miss. -- Archie Manning says his family has softened its stance in opposition to the University of Mississippi promoting quarterback Eli Manning for the Heisman trophy.

	Ole Miss QB Eli Manning has a chance to do more than follow his father's footsteps by winning the Heisman.

Archie's only request when it comes to promoting his son: Keep it simple.

"If Eli gets attention from (award voters), it's going to be because he's earned it going into his senior year," Archie Manning said in a telephone interview with The Clarion-Ledger newspaper of Jackson. "He'll be a candidate, but I still don't want some all-out deal or something."

The elder Manning, a former Ole Miss quarterback and two-time Heisman Trophy finalist, said the family has agreed to let the school come up with a strategy to push Eli Manning for what is considered college football's most prestigious award.

Langston Rogers, Ole Miss sports information director, said Tuesday his staff was in the process of developing a postseason awards campaign for Manning, widely considered a Heisman candidate and top prospect for the 2004 NFL draft.

The 6-foot-5, 218-pound passer enters his senior season with 6,519 yards, 52 touchdowns and 24 school records.

"I don't want anything (major) and everyone knows that," said Eli Manning, who opted to return for his senior season. "Anything extreme or out of the ordinary is not my personality."

Last year, Archie Manning asked Ole Miss to drop any plans to market his son as a Heisman candidate, which included the school promoting him in a feature photo on the cover of its football media guide.

At that time, Archie Manning said the family had no desire to subject another son to the hype that Peyton Manning, now quarterback of the NFL's Indianapolis Colts, coped with in a failed bid at the Heisman in 1997 while at Tennessee.

On Tuesday, Archie Manning said he may have been misunderstood a year ago. He said he never intended to derail any reasonable plan Ole Miss had in place.

"When I said campaign, I meant I didn't want them to come up with some gimmick to lobby voters," he said. "Eli didn't want that. I felt like last year, if I would have just kept my mouth shut ... I felt bad because the way it came out made it look like I didn't want to let Langston Rogers do his job.

"I want him to do what he thinks is best," Manning said, "but something that would be no different if it were for (senior receiver) Chris Collins or (senior cornerback) Von Hutchins."

Rogers said Ole Miss will have no problem developing a strategy that meets the Mannings' request.

"Any time you are trying to position players to be considered for individual honors, name recognition plays a major role," Rogers said. "In (this) case, the national media knows who Eli Manning is."