Peyton Manning was a guest speaker at the University of Virginia's (UVa) valedictory exercises and he did what he does best, tell jokes and throw footballs.

Manning is known for his comedic chops, with his numerous commercial acting jobs and a Saturday Night Live appearance. But he is far better known for 13 Pro Bowl selections, five NFL MVP awards and one Super Bowl win.

According to UVa's website, the valedictory exercises is a "unique ceremony includes the presentation of the Class Gift and University Awards." The keynote speaker is chosen by the students and this year it was Manning, quarterback of the Denver Broncos.

Manning graduated from Tennessee, whose football team plays in the SEC, unlike UVa, who plays in the ACC. Still, Manning poked some fun at the school.

"My wife Ashley is the smartest person I know," Manning said in his address. "I know a lot of that has to do with her four years at UVa. I like to tell a lot of people that Ashley came to Virginia because she couldn't get into Tennessee."

He then did something he said he has wanted to do for some time, throw passes on the school's lawn. So he called three graduating seniors to be his passing targets and assured them if they messed up, it would not make it to YouTube. No one dropped a pass, but the video was on YouTube nonetheless.

Manning then joked about his fake United Way commercial he did as a sketch for SNL. He said he received letters from parents who watched Manning throw footballs at child actors in the sketch. Manning said he responded by questioning why parents are watching SNL with their young children.

Manning, one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, also coached the students on success after college. He said, "people in charge don't necessarily have all of the answers."

"Don't let expertise silence you," Manning said. "Work to find new solutions to old problems. Think outside the parameters that restrict other peoples' thoughts. Just because you're a novice on the job, just because you haven't faced the same challenges, just because you haven't climbed the same cliffs, doesn't mean you can't contribute to solutions in very significant ways. When you're chided for your naivety - and you will be - remind your critics that an amateur built an ark. Experts built the Titanic."