Countdown to ACC Kickoff, No. 19: EJ Manuel
The ACC Kickoff (aka media days) is fast approaching. I’ll be using the blog to count down to what we media members consider the unofficial start of the football season. This isn’t a list of the 25 best players on Virginia Tech’s roster. It’s a list of 25 things/people that will determine whether the Hokies’ 2012 season is a success or not. That includes players and coaches from both Virginia Tech and, occasionally, a few of its opponents.
Follow me on Twitter and Facebook.
No. 19: EJ Manuel, Florida State quarterback
There is a pretty clear distinction last year between games Florida State quarterback EJ Manuel was healthy for and which ones he was not. With the exception of the Virginia game, the former have W’s next to them and the latter L’s.
Manuel might not be the best player on the Seminoles — that person would probably reside on a defense that could be the best in the country — but he could be the most important in determining whether FSU can ever make the step again from offseason darling to legitimate ACC contender.
Manuel, the Seminoles’ 6-foot-5, 238-pound signal caller from Virginia Beach, is primed for an impactful senior season under Jimbo Fisher, a Heisman contender in some peoples’ opinion and potential first-round draft pick.
He missed parts of three games early last season with after separating his left shoulder. FSU lost all three to Oklahoma, Clemson and Wake Forest. When he got back to full strength, he helped the ‘Noles win seven of their final eight games, including a 15-point fourth quarter rally to beat Notre Dame in the Champs Sports Bowl. Manuel guided the comeback win on a broken leg behind a makeshift offensive line.
He returned for his senior season and faces a situation strikingly similar to Virginia Tech’s Logan Thomas. While he has some weapons at wide receiver, questions persist about the offensive line and running game.
Manuel finished last year with his best stats to date, coinciding with his first full season as a starter after Christian Ponder moved on to the NFL. Manuel completed 65.3 percent of his passes for 2,666 yards, with 18 touchdowns and eight interceptions, solid numbers that you’d expect to improve in his redshirt senior season.
He’s faced Virginia Tech once before, filling in for an injured Ponder in the 2010 ACC championship game. He passed for 288 yards and a touchdown but also threw two picks, one that was returned for a touchdown by Jeron Gouveia-Winslow in the Hokies’ 44-33 win in Charlotte.
He’ll get at least one more shot against Virginia Tech when FSU plays at Lane Stadium in a Thursday night game Nov. 8. That could very well be an ACC championship game preview too, considering both teams will probably be the preseason favorites to win their respective divisions.
That would make him a major factor in whether the Hokies reclaim the top spot in the ACC.
Coming Wednesday: He has a powerful goatee.
Previous entries:
- No. 25: Randall Dunn, senior tight end
- No. 24: Donaldven Manning, freshman cornerback
- No. 23: Pick a punter
- No. 22: J.C. Coleman, freshman running back
- No. 21: Georgia Tech’s option offense
- No. 20: Antoine and Derrick Hopkins, defensive tackles
July 3, 2012 - 8:45 AM
I don’t know if I agree Manuel is a potential 1st round draftee, but I defer to the experts.
I noticed on the bottom of the blog post, there is a blurb that says, “Coming Monday…” Are you going to be taking the rest of the week off, Andy?
No, I just forgot to change the day after I copied and pasted the format from yesterday. It’ll be for Tuesday.
Does the term “over rated” mean anything anymore? The FSU hype machine is so strog I think the only ones who think this guy is Heisman material is getting their stuff from the hype machine. VT could learn a great deal about PR for individual players.
Notre Dame got the world to change the way Joe Theisman pronounced his name so it would ryme with “Heisman”. His family pronounces it “theesman”.
Florida got Spurrier a Heisman when there were better players. Gary Beban finished second to O.J. Simpson (ever hear of Gary Beban?). Examples abound.
Compare this to the VT hype. Our hype machine plays us as underdogs with an undertalented team (undertalented recruits, bad coaching, weak line, short on defense backs, nobody our of 5 RBs are any good and on and on). Some have said (including Kiper about 3 months ago) that Logan Thomas will be the #1 pick if he comes out this year.
FSU has the same hype every year. When was the last time the backed it up?
*nodding vigorously in agreement with Zman’s post*
Nodding vigorously sounds like a headache waiting to happen!
I think I hear a few loose part rattling around in my head after that.
Manuel’s health is definitely the key. He certainly could end up a 1st rounder if he stays healthy. He’s signicantly more accurate than Logan Thomas, faster, probably will have a better offensive line and a brutal defense is without question. Kiper is an idiot anyway. I hope Thomas is a first rounder, but Kiper’s “projections” other than the obvious(Colts will take Luck) are about as accurate as his grammar. His credentials are that he just started making picks and he has friends at the ESPN cartel who like his gangster hairdo.
But the fact that Manuel has a deep surrounding cast gives him a great chance to be a first rounder. He’s shown that he is extremely talented and should be even better this year, and if he can stay healthy, VT will have their hands full that Thursday night.
The thing that sticks out to me about Manuel is he seems to always throw an INT anytime he gets a little pressure on him. Granted his interception numbers were a little better this past season but they always seemed to come at the worst possible time like driving for a winning/tying score. If any team gets good pressure on him he tends to make poor decisions with the football….doesn’t sound like a first rounder to me but then again I’m no Mel Kiper.
Zman,
Beban won the Heisman in ’67. OJ finished 2nd. OJ won in ’68.
Beban broke his ankle in ’66 abd was not ever close to being the same player again. No surprise he couldn’t cut it in the pro’s.