There’s a line in Sherrick McManis’ bio that might make you check the prescription of your reading glasses: Played eight different positions his senior year.
McManis was a star tailback and cornerback at Peoria Richwoods High School. His other roles included playing receiver, returning kicks and punting.
“We wanted the ball in his hands on every play,” Richwoods coach Doug Simper said. “He would have played nose guard for us — and he would have been great.”
Greatness is what McManis now is achieving for Northwestern.
The all-Big Ten cornerback graded out perfectly in Saturday’s game against Miami (Ohio), going 8-for-8 in what NU coaches call “point of attack” plays. He has intercepted passes in three consecutive games, with the one against Miami drawing raves from everyone who witnessed it.
“Ridiculous,” said Northwestern safety Brian Peters, stealing an adjective normally associated with Devin Hester.
McManis cut in front of intended receiver Dustin Woods, twisting his body for a tumbling, over-the-shoulder grab that held up to the scrutiny of replay officials.
“What a great play!” yelled Big Ten Network analyst Glen Mason, the former Minnesota coach. “You will not see one better than that!”
After viewing the replay, Mason remarked: “He Willie Mays-ed it. Right over his shoulder . That’s one of those where when you’re recruiting and see a guy do that in high school you say: ‘Sign him up.'”
McManis made plays like that at Richwoods, but mainly as a senior. By then, schools had doled out most of their scholarships.
As a junior, McManis played tailback on a Class 6A playoff team that mainly fed its fullback on belly-option runs.
A week before Thanksgiving, with McManis holding offers from only Eastern Illinois, Western Illinois and Illinois State, Simper sent film to Northwestern, Illinois and Iowa.
An Illinois coach who is no longer on Ron Zook’s staff told Simper that McManis, now 6 feet 1 and 190 pounds, was too small.
Iowa coaches had concerns about his physical toughness.
Northwestern, which has ties to Richwoods through former linebackers Dan and Ed Sutter, did not need to be sold on McManis.
“I thought he was an electric athlete,” coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “I remember Coach (Randy Walker) saying: ‘I don’t know what this kid is going to do for us, but it will be something.’ Little did we know he’d be so explosive and so physical.”
Fitzgerald also could not have known McManis would turn out to be a top-caliber student nearing a degree in communication studies.
“There are not many cornerbacks in the country who have above a 3.0 cumulative GPA and play football the way that he does,” Fitzgerald said. “There might be guys who are playing a hair better, but they can’t spell cat the way Sherrick can.”
McManis’ humility is such that Simper recalled telling reporters: “If you are going to interview him, come with a lot of questions. Because he’ll give you a lot of one- and two- and three-word answers. He is soft-spoken.”
Perhaps that explains why McManis slipped out after practice Wednesday morning without meeting with reporters. That, and he had to prepare for midterms.
But that shyness does not explain what took place at halftime of the Syracuse game.
Orange quarterback Greg Paulus had shredded NU’s defense in the first 30 minutes, throwing for 218 yards. Why? Because the senior captain had been sidelined with a leg injury.
But that didn’t stop McManis from speaking up.
“He said: ‘We battle as brothers and if you need any juice (energy), look to me,'” Peters recalled.
“Sherrick was screaming during the game. His passion is contagious.”
Said Fitzgerald: “I have six more weekends with him guaranteed and I’d love to have 12 more. He is a coach’s dream.”
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tgreenstein@tribune.com
