Ricky Manning

Richard "Ricky" Manning Jr. (born November 18, 1980) is a former American football cornerback and a former High School Football Coach in Fresno, California. He played college football at UCLA and was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft. Along with the Panthers he also played for the Chicago Bears, St. Louis Rams, Oakland Raiders, and the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League

Ricky Manning

Ricky Manning Jr. at the Bears 2007 Training Camp
No. 24, 27
Position:	Cornerback
Personal information
Born:	(1980-11-18) November 18, 1980 Fresno, California
Height:	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight:	195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school:	Edison (Fresno, California)
College:	UCLA
NFL Draft:	2003 / Round: 3 / Pick: 82
Career history
Carolina Panthers (2003–2005) Chicago Bears (2006–2007) St. Louis Rams (2008) Oakland Raiders (2009)* Florida Tuskers/Virginia Destroyers (2009–2011)
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles: 268 Sacks: 4.0 Forced fumbles: 4 Fumble recoveries: 5 Interceptions: 14 Defensive touchdowns: 3 Player stats at NFL.com

Early years

Manning played high school football at Edison High School in Fresno.[1]

College career

Manning started 45 consecutive games for UCLA, which ranks as the second longest streak in school history. His 13 interceptions tie him for seventh all-time among Bruin players. In addition, he made first-team All-Pac-10 for his last three years.

Professional career

Carolina Panthers

Manning was taken in the third round (82nd overall) of the 2003 NFL Draft by Carolina. His first pick came in only his second game, as he intercepted Atlanta Falcons quarterback Doug Johnson. With injuries to the secondary, Manning eventually took over a starting role. His first interception to be returned for a touchdown came against the New York Giants. But he will be forever remembered by Panther fans for his performance during the 2003-04 NFL playoffs. In the NFC Divisional game against the St. Louis Rams, Manning's timely interception of Marc Bulger set up the game-winning touchdown to propel the Panthers into the NFC Championship game against the Philadelphia Eagles. There, Manning made a permanent mark on Panther history by intercepting Donovan McNabb three times en route to the Panthers' victory. Manning became the first rookie to win Defensive Player of the Week honors twice in the same postseason. As of 2017's NFL off-season, Manning's 4 postseason interceptions in 2003 remain franchise records for both a career and single season, as do his 3 interceptions in the Philadelphia game.

During the Panthers' injury-riddled 2004 season, Manning helped anchor a defense that ranked first in the league in interceptions. Against the Rams, Manning and teammate Dan Morgan picked off two passes each, the first game where a pair of teammates had a pair of interceptions in three years.

Chicago Bears

Ricky became a restricted free agent in the following offseason, and the Bears signed him to an offer sheet on April 21. The Panthers declined to match Chicago's offer, and received a third round pick from the Bears in the 2006 NFL Draft. Manning intercepted five passes during the 2006 season. He intercepted two passes from Matt Hasselbeck, and later returned an interception for a touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings during week thirteen. He also had an interception during the Divisional Playoffs against the Seattle Seahawks.[2]

Manning saw minimal playtime during the 2007 season, and was used at nickelback. He later worked with the team's third string defense, and tutored Danieal Manning, who would eventually replace him as the team's nickelback.[3][4] On August 26, 2008, the Chicago Bears released Ricky after a two-year stint.[5][6]

St. Louis Rams

On August 31, 2008, Manning agreed to terms with the St. Louis Rams. He officially signed the following day. Then on October 14, 2008, Manning was placed on injured reserve after injuring his foot in a game against the Washington Redskins.

Oakland Raiders

Manning signed with the Oakland Raiders on August 15, 2009 after the team released tight end John Paul Foschi. Manning was released on August 24.

Legal troubles

In 2002 Manning was convicted of assault as a result of a fight with cheerleaders Brian Herbert and Seth Spiker outside a Westwood bar. Originally charged with two counts of felony assault, Manning pleaded not guilty to one count and the other count was dismissed.[7] He received probation.

On April 23, 2006, Manning attacked Soroush Sabzi,[8] in a Denny's restaurant after first teasing him for working on a laptop computer.[9] He was charged with assault with a deadly weapon. (Two days before the incident, the Bears had signed Manning to $21 million offer sheet. In light of the assault charge, the Panthers declined to match Chicago's offer and Manning signed with the Bears.)

Facing up to four years in prison, Manning pleaded no contest in September 2006 to felony assault in exchange for another probation deal. Later, Manning proclaimed his innocence. He acknowledged having words with the victim then pushing him in the head—but after that, according to him, his former UCLA teammates did the damage. "Yeah, I did it" explained Manning (AP report). "If I don't plea to this I have to go through trial. We're in season now. Then I'd have to put it in the hands of a jury. There are tons of things that can happen with a jury... I just can't risk that."

The NFL suspended him for one game for this, his second felony assault conviction.[10]

Hometown Coaching

In 2012 Manning was hired to coach his high school alma mater's varsity football team. He was the Head Coach of the Edison High Tigers, in Fresno, California, for just one year. From there Manning went on to coach 2 seasons at Fresno City College as defensive backs and special teams coach before going back to school at Fresno State and working as a graduate assistant.[11]

Seattle Seahawks

In 2016 Manning was hired as an Assistant Coach with the Seattle Seahawks.[12] It was announced in February 2018, that Manning would not return to the Seahawks for the 2018 season.[13]

NFL statistics

Year	Team	GP	COMB	TOTAL	AST	SACK	FF	FR	FR YDS	INT	IR YDS	AVG IR	LNG	TD	PD
2003	CAR	16	57	50	7	0.0	2	1	0	3	33	11	27	1	7
2004	CAR	16	66	54	12	0.0	0	0	0	4	46	12	30	0	9
2005	CAR	16	41	33	8	0.0	1	3	0	2	20	10	10	0	6
2006	CHI	15	53	42	11	2.0	1	0	0	5	113	23	54	1	10
2007	CHI	16	44	33	11	1.0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
2008	STL	5	7	6	1	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Career		84	268	218	50	4.0	4	5	0	14	212	15	54	2	33

[14]

References

1. Fontana, Cyndee. "Patriotic Exercise Fresno coach cheers his former player in defeat", The Fresno Bee, February 2, 2004. Accessed November 15, 2007. "It's the ring that eluded Ricky Manning Jr. in 1998, when his Edison High School Tigers lost to Sanger in the championship game."
2. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/gamelog?playerId=4540
3. http://www.chicagobears.com/news/NewsStory.asp?story_id=4940
4. http://www.chicagobears.com/news/ChalkTalkStory.asp?story_id=4936
5. "Bears release veteran cornerback Ricky Manning Jr.", ChicagoBears.com, August 26, 2008. Accessed August 26, 2008.
6. "Bears release Ricky Manning Jr.", Chicago Sun-Times, August 26, 2008. Accessed August 26, 2008.
7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on August 23, 2006. Retrieved August 11, 2006.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 12, 2006. Retrieved May 18, 2007.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
9. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2419713
10. "Ricky Manning Jr. NFL Transactions: Signings, Trades & more". Retrieved July 2, 2018.
11. "Edison High alum Ricky Manning Jr. heads back to NFL as Seahawks assistant". Retrieved July 2, 2018.
12. "Edison High alum Ricky Manning Jr. heads back to NFL as Seahawks assistant". Retrieved July 2, 2018.
13. "Ricky Manning Jr. becomes 8th assistant to leave Seahawks' staff". Retrieved July 2, 2018.
14. "Ricky Manning Stats". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved December 29, 2014.

External links

• Just Sports Stats
• Chicago Bears bio
• Oakland Raiders bio
• United Football League bio