MINDY ROSS/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Ricky Manning
Jr., UCLA’s starting cornerback, spent six weeks of his
summer playing professional baseball for the Minnesota Twins.
By Greg Lewis
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Some football players have more interesting summer jobs than
others.
Cornerback Ricky Manning Jr. spent his summer playing
professional baseball for the Minnesota Twins organization.
Manning is the only professional athlete on the UCLA football
team. He made $45,000 for six weeks of rookie league baseball in
Fort Meyers, Fla. And he’s still got $235,000 and four years
left on his contract.
“It’s nice having money,” Manning said.
“When my investments do well, I can take my teammates out and
pick up the bill.”
Driving a brand new Expedition doesn’t hurt the college
experience, either.
Baseball, despite the money it provides, is a distant second to
football. Chasing down wide receivers is just more fun than chasing
down fly balls.
“This summer I broke a catcher’s collarbone and
separated his shoulder,” Manning said.
“I just like football better.”
Sound a little aggressive?
Well, Manning has to be. There are not too many successful
5-foot-8 cornerbacks in college football.
“Sometimes he’s a little overaggressive,” UCLA
head coach Bob Toledo said. “But that’s a lot better
than not being aggressive enough. I’d take a whole team of
Ricky Mannings if I could.”
“I think he’s referring more to last year,”
Manning said. “This year I’ve cut down on being
overaggressive. I think I’m doing all right.”
In a defense that has been notoriously unstable for the past two
years, Manning has been one of only two players to start every game
since he took over the starting spot in the third game of the
season last year.
In a defensive backfield that has been suspect for the past two
years, Manning is easily the most consistent defender, the one
least likely to watch a defender fly by, and the one most likely to
make a tackle behind the line of scrimmage.
“He’s tenacious, he keeps our energy high because he
never lets up,” safety Marques Anderson said.
Manning played safety in high school, but was quickly moved over
to corner when Toledo and defensive coordinator Bob Field realized
he was too good for the position.
“Usually, we recruit players for the backfield, and then
if their coverage skills are good enough, we put them at corner. If
not, we move them to safety,” Field said.
“We knew right away Ricky was a corner. Within the first
seven days of practice, we knew he had the ability to play right
away. Shortly after that, we made him the starting
cornerback.”
At the end of the 1999 season, he was named to the Freshman
All-American squad by the Sporting News.
The same quality that makes Manning an effective football player
also makes him one of the most popular guys on the team. He knows
what to take seriously.
“When he’s on the field, he remembers what needs to
be remembered and forgets what needs to be forgotten. He never
makes the same mistake twice; and when he does get beat, he
doesn’t dwell on it. He’s ready for the next
play,” Field said.
His teammates like his attitude when he’s not playing, as
well.
“Off the field in the locker room, he’s such a cool
guy to hang around. He’s never too serious,” Anderson
said.
“Since we never get to dance on the field, he’s
always dancing in the locker room. He’s just such a good guy
to have around. I’m glad he’s on my team.”
The one time of the year when Manning gets a little more serious
is when the game means a little more. For example, when
Manning’s hometown school, Fresno State, travels to the Rose
Bowl.
“It’s good to beat them,” Manning said earlier
this season after UCLA defeated the Bulldogs for the second time in
Manning’s two years.
Before the first meeting of the two schools, before
Manning’s first start of his career, he felt that Fresno
State coach Pat Hill was slighting his skills.
Hill denies making disparaging remarks, but Manning says he
heard them multiple times through the grapevine.
Coming from Fresno, an agricultural city with no skyscrapers,
Manning was not fazed in the least by the move to Los Angeles.
“He’s like a 40-year-old 19-year-old,” safety
Audie Attar said. “He got here, and he was so mature.
It’s like he’d already been playing for years. He acts
like he’s already been there before. He’s so
humble.”
Although Manning will be a tough sell to professional scouts
““ the NFL does not like short corners ““ he thinks he
has a chance.
Former Bruin corner Daryl Henley had a successful pro career,
despite being all of 5-foot-9, and Field thinks Manning can do the
same.
If the NFL doesn’t come knocking, Manning still keeps his
baseball bat in his locker.