Looking to cut into a 16-0 fourth-quarter deficit, Miami (OH) quarterback Zac Dysert scanned the field and threw a pass from his own 18-yard line. Dysert hoped to take advantage of Dustin Woods’ one-on-one matchup with NU senior cornerback Sherrick McManis, tossing the ball 42 yards down field.
But that’s when McManis made his third impressive interception in three weeks, leaping for the ball thrown over his head and catching it, then holding on as he tumbled on the ground.He got up. Stood still on the spot. He had been there before.
“All three of those interceptions are great plays – none of them are cookie cutter,” coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “It’s just been crazy out there. It’s not like they’re trying to throw the ball right to you as a (defensive back), so typically it’s got to be a pretty spectacular play.”
McManis is used to things not being gift-wrapped for him. As the holiday season neared during his senior year in high school, he had no scholarship offers from Big Ten teams. The Peoria, Ill., native looked to be choosing among Eastern Illinois, Illinois State and Western Illinois.
Then the Wildcats got a look at him. They asked him to come play for them. McManis’ choice was clear.
“Northwestern came in and it’s in the Big Ten,” McManis said. “Plus it’s a great academic school, and I wanted to compete with the best. I knew the Big Ten was the best conference out there, and that’s why I came here.”
As a freshman, McManis did not redshirt, and in addition to handing kickoff returns – a role he fondly remembers – he played nickelback for a game and started at cornerback for three games.
McManis said his approach freshman year was to leave everything he had on the field and let the chips fall where they may.
“I always think of myself as striving to be the best player that I can,” McManis said. “If that was meaning I was going to start, then I was going to start, and if I wasn’t, then so be it. I really didn’t think about it too much, I just went out and did what I do.”
MENTOR MCMANISIn the Cats’ second game of the 2008 season against Duke, McManis’ fellow starting cornerback Justan Vaughn went down with a season-ending shoulder injury. That propelled then-redshirt freshman Jordan Mabin into the starter’s role.
Mabin, now a sophomore with a year of experience under his belt, attributes his smooth transition, in part, to the guidance of McManis.
“It was a lot of help having him back there mentally and physically,” Mabin said. “On the practice field, he showed me a lot of techniques to use, but in the film room as well, being able to ask him, ‘What do you think you would do in this situation?’ because he’s been there, he’s faced a lot of the good receivers in the Big Ten and across the country.”
Although McManis is willing to share advice with his younger cornerback companion, sometimes he would rather keep everything for himself.
“He doesn’t like to share,” Mabin said. “We roomed (together at Camp) Kenosha, and he would always bring back food. I would ask for some and he wouldn’t give me (any), so I used to get a little mad about that.”
TAKING A DIFFERENT FIELDJunior wide receiver Sidney Stewart calls McManis “a beast to say the least” when he lines up across from him in practice.
Now picture McManis as your opponent. Only now he has a paintball gun in his hands.McManis took up paintball over the summer and said he has enjoyed his time out on that field. Though he has to dodge balls instead of catch them, McManis found his cornerback skills have translated to paintball.
“I’m sneaking, I be dodging all the paintballs, hiding behind the trees,” McManis said. “I’m quick on my feet – they can’t really get a nice shot on me.”
His quickness and cunning approach challenge wide receivers across the conference in determining when they have truly beat McManis and when they are falling into a trap.
“He has the speed enough to where he can bait receivers,” Stewart said. “When they think they’re open, he is able use his closing speed and work to get that ball.”
I DON’T WANT TO “C” ITBefore every game, McManis goes through a few rituals: He visualizes how he expects the game to go, thanks God for the opportunities he has been given and focuses as he steps onto the field.
During midterm season, he does some of the same things, and generally succeeds just like he does on the field. McManis is one of several NU players who boast a 3.0 GPA or better, something Fitzgerald and McManis pride themselves on.
“When midterms come, I try to focus in on them,” McManis said. “I’m not going to kill myself if I don’t get an A or something, I don’t take it to heart, but I don’t like to get C’s.”
Whether in the classroom or on the football field, McManis has put in the effort to be successful. And sometimes spectacular.
“You just go out and practice and execute on the plays you do have, and sometimes you have to make great plays,” McManis said. “You’re not thinking about making great plays, you’re just thinking about doing your job and making a play when the opportunity presents itself.”
