FIU’s star middle linebacker set to conclude college career, hoping for NFL opportunity
FIU’s Donovan Manuel has a role model, and his name is Ivan Pace Jr.
Both of them weigh 230 pounds.
Both of them played for two non-Power-Five schools.
Both of them play middle/inside linebacker.
Pace went undrafted this year, and Manuel will likely face the same fate in 2024.
Pace turns 23 next month. Manuel is already 23.
The difference is that Pace is starting as a rookie for the Minnesota Vikings while Manuel faces a world of uncertainty over the next several months.
One thing for sure: Manuel will play his last college football game this Saturday as the Panthers (4-7, 1-6) host Conference USA rival Western Kentucky (6-5, 4-3). It’s the regular-season finale for both teams, and FIU has already fallen short of clinching bowl eligibility for the fourth straight year.
The game does have meaning in a sense as Manuel and his teammates are hoping to pay back Western Kentucky for last year, when the Hilltoppers humiliated the Panthers, 73-0.
But once this weekend is over, Manuel will begin training for any opportunity to impress pro scouts – whether it’s a combine, an all-star game or a tryout.
“I think Donovan will have an opportunity to play in the NFL,” FIU coach Mike MacIntyre said. “He has been phenomenal since the day he got here.”
Indeed, Manuel led FIU last season in tackles for losses (8½), and he finished second in total stops (97). This season – with one game remaining – he has blown away those numbers, ranking tied for first in Conference USA in tackles for losses (15½) and third in total stops (111). He also ranks tied for second in the nation in forced fumbles (four).
“He has also grown as a vocal leader,” McIntyre said. “He’s an exceptional football player and an exceptional person.”
FIU defensive coordinator Jovan Dewitt said Manuel is often the last person to leave the program’s football office, spending many late nights watching film and improving his attention to detail.
Dewitt also said he had many talks with Manuel last year about nutrition.
Manuel took those chats seriously, dropping from 242 to 230 pounds, mostly by replacing Starbursts and Skittles with apples and oranges.
“He’s slimmer, ‘twitchier’ and able to run faster,” Dewitt said. “There were plays on the edges last year where he was one step behind. Now he’s making those plays.”
Manuel, a Georgia native who turns 24 in February, spent the first four years of his career at East Tennessee State and the past two at FIU.
He estimates that he has played more than 1,800 college snaps, and the turning point in his career is when he starting showing up early for meetings.
“If you are attentive in meetings, it will show up on Saturdays,” Manuel said. “I figured out I wanted to be great and not just good.
“God didn’t put us here to be mediocre. I want to excel at everything I do in life.”
Manuel, who already has his Bachelor’s degree, wants to work in cyber security once his football career is over.
“If Donovan doesn’t make it in the NFL, I expect him to one day be the CEO of a company,” MacIntyre said. “That’s the type of intelligence, work ethic and character I see in Donovan.”
THIS AND THAT
▪ FIU wide receiver Kris Mitchell leads C-USA with 1,002 reception yards. The FIU single-season record is 1,074 yards, set by Chambers in 2021.
▪ WKU’s top two players are Florida natives: quarterback Austin Reed (St. Augustine Beach) and wide receiver Malachi Corley (Orange City). Reed led the nation in passing yards last season (4,744), and he added 40 TD tosses. This year, Reed leads C-USA in passing yards (3,060) and ranks second in TD throws (27).
Corley had 101 catches for 1,295 yards and 11 touchdowns last year. This season, he leads C-USA in TD catches (10), ranks second to Mitchell in reception yards (924) and third in catches (69).
