Detroit picks UBC o-lineman Giovanni Manu in NFL Draft fourth round

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UBC Thunderbirds offensive tackle Giovanni Manu was picked by the Detroit Lions in the fourth round of Saturday’s NFL Draft, becoming the first player from the U Sports Canadian university ranks to be selected since Manitoba Bisons defensive lineman David Onyemata went in the 2016 fourth round to the New Orleans Saints. 

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Manu, who’s from Pitt Meadows, checks in at 6-foot-7 and 352 pounds. He ran a 5.03-second 40-yard dash at the pro day, which would have tied him for the 10th best time among the 70 offensive linemen who attended the NFL Scouting Combine in early March and he would have been the second heaviest player there.

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That prompted him making 13 visits with NFL clubs afterwards, including the Lions, where he met with Lions coach Dan Campbell.

“He’s worth it, man. If you’re going to take a shot on a kid, you take a shot on an athlete,” said UBC coach Blake Nill. 

Fellow UBC offensive tackle Theo Benedet, who’s from North Vancouver, has also received attention from NFL clubs and could be selected today in the seven-round draft. The pair pulled out of CFL Draft last year and opted to use their final season eligibility at UBC. The T-Birds went to the Vanier Cup national final, losing to the Montreal Carabins.

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A UBC player had never been drafted in the NFL previously.

“His ceiling is so high right,” Nill said of Manu. “He’s just a young kid. He doesn’t understand everything about the game yet, but what he does understand is that you have to work hard, you have to accept coaching, you have to train and you have be a performance-based athlete. And that’s Giovanni. He’s a performance-based individual both when it comes to academics and on the field.

“I told him, ‘Gio, don’t change the person you are.’ He’s a humble, hard-working…his character is incredible. I’m so proud of him.”

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