Sophomore cornerback Donaldven Manning has elected to transfer. His departure leaves Virginia Tech seriously thin at cornerback.
Boundary corner: Kyle Fuller (Sr.), Donovan Riley (So.)
Field corner: Kendall Fuller (Fr.), Brandon Facyson (Fr.)
Beyond those four players, the Hokies have only walkons at cornerback. Antone Exum (r-Sr.) is still injured, and it’s not clear when he’ll return. He went through light warmups with the team on Saturday, but right now he isn’t close to returning to a full practice schedule.
Manning came to Virginia Tech as a highly-touted cornerback recruit from Florida. He reportedly held offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Nebraska and many other major programs. He played as a true freshman last season, but struggled and nearly quit the team during the middle of the season.
With the emergence of Brandon Facyson and Kendall Fuller, both true freshmen, it was becoming clear that Manning’s opportunity to start in the future was greatly decreased. Unfortunately, he leaves Virginia Tech with a big depth problem in the secondary.
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If he is leaving for reasons other than his perceived team status, then fine. Family considerations, homesickness, academics or campus culture issues may all be a valid reason for wanting to leave. If so, then find another place that will work for you. Prosper and be happy.
If, however, he is leaving because he is not happy with his role on the team, then he indeed needs to grow-up. When you’re in a major, competitive college FB program, wheather it is VT or anywhere else, how you perform determines your place in the playing time pecking order. If he is unhappy with where he is at, its up to him to work harder to get where he wants to be. Life is filled with quitters. The difference makers perserver with hard work, intensity and focus on attaining success. The timing of this announcement comes at the most inopportune time of the season, so it may make one wonder that perhaps he is one of those athletes who just might spell TEAM with a Capital “I”. If that’s the case, he has been here much too long already.
IMHO it must be something else as well. Wonder where he will end up?
Sorry but I gotta vent on this one. What ever happened to sticking it out? To living up to your commitment to a school? What ever happened to re-dedicating yourself, figuring out what you’re doing wrong, fixing it, and becoming better? To being a team player and sticking around because you want to help the school that’s been educating you for free?
If you’re going to just waste our time and yours, why not just transfer at the end of last season? Instead, we’re left hanging at the very cusp of the year and we’re now perilously thin at DB. I know kids coming out of HS now are notoriously fickle, but has it now devolved to the point that we can’t even count on guys to get thru summer practice?
I don’t know, maybe it’s just me. Just getting kinda tired of this.
I think your vent is exactly right-Zanderhokie. We live in an age and world now of instant gratification and self-glorification. When adversity is experienced these kids do not know how to perservere and show toughness and loyalty. This is why we see so many kids so loosely change their minds on their commitments and verbals. Many of these athletes lack the inner fortitude to become real champions based on principle. It Manning has a real family issue, then fine but leaving because of homesickness or facing tough competition…jeez welcome to life my friend. I admire many of those Penn State kids for electing to stick it out despite the bad- it shows alot of character. Like OandM 69 says earlier, we have to hand to the Frank Beamer coaching staff….over the years through good and bad we have had few to fall through the cracks once they get to Tech.
It’s no different now than it’s ever been. Some guys come in wanting to be a starter and only wanting to be a starter. If they find themselves down the depth chart, they transfer. It’s been this way for decades.
Alabama in 3 weeks and he quits? He was right in the mix….one injury away? Had to be more than football….just can’t understand his thought process.
Reminds me of kid from Minnesota(?) a couple of years ago, another CB that dumped us and left us in poor shape.
You have to admit, Coaches do a solid job getting kids to commit and stay at Tech. Once in a while one or two will fall thru the cracks, but they’re hard to see or figure out. But most kids who commit to Tech stick it out.
Has there ever been this many players out of the program (for one reason or another) from the bowl game to fall practice…?
Not that I can recall. Although the defense had a few defections, I think that a change in coaches can cause some culture shift that makes some re-think whether they fit.
But, for Manning, I think the notion that there are two new “studs” in Facyson and Fuller was a big factor. I also wonder if he thinks they are being moved too far up the depth chart too fast, basically an issue of him perceiving the coaches playing favorites. I wish him the best wherever he lands.
Wouldn’t timing be driven by having to sit out one year when transferring? If he played this year, he would have to sit out next year, whereas if he sat out this year, he could play at the new school next year. Can anyone confirm or clarify on this?
For the future, the fact that we have so many DB’s committed in the upcoming recruiting class. These commits along with Holland Fisher (hopefully) and we should be fine NEXT YEAR. But, for this year, we need Exum back pronto.
The kid didn’t really want to be at Virginia Tech for whatever his reason. Let’s move on as he has. Next man up.
In Bud I trust!!
Go Hokies
Agree 100+++++ Do not get all the wailing and hand wringing. it is what it is!
The timing of his decision cannot be good for his future prospects and his development.
Unless he is a gym rat, he will miss out this entire year until he can get enrolled somewhere else for the Spring.
He was going to play A LOT- I wish he had been patient and proven himself on the field but it is what it is.
Almost quit least year–was he ever really here? Opens up a scholarship.Scholarship meet Charlie Meyer a guy who definitely wants to play & reportedly has the skills to go with the desire.
There are lots of high school kids who choose a college when they’re 17 and after a year or so decide it is not for them. I can think of of two who were scholarship athletes who transferred (one left Tech recently). Fortunately, since they were both soccer players, nobody outside their family & friends noticed, so their difficult decisions did not have to play out on a message board.
I wish him well (unless he plays against us – then I wish him an off game).
Robert brown and he should hang out. Whatever the reason, We don’t want or need uncommitted players. Like someone else said, we will deal with the depth issue. Lesser talent + bigger heart > better talent + no heart. I’m not trashing him but players these days are definitely more fickle at heart.
There could be a multitude of issues this young man is dealing with.I pray he finds what he is looking for.
There’s no reason to trash the guy. If he’s not happy for whatever reason it’s his life. If he transfers now and takes a red shirt, which he always needed because of his size, he can still have his three best playing years somewhere. I just hope he finds whet he wants.
I disagree that his opportunity to play in the future was going to be limited. Exum and Fuller are seniors. Even if Fuller and Facyson were good enough to become the two starters next year, there is no reason to think that Manning could not supplant and compete with either one. Did he think Riley was strong competition also? I don’t get it. I don’t get the homesick thing either. I will give him benefit of the doubt but this is flaky. To really transfer if the reason was two freshmen CBs and not to see that two seniors were leaving after this year?
Someone really needs to tell the CBs and other players about the VT years when we had three-four starting caliber CBs in the fold and they made the NFL. Geez. Someone should talk to Eric Green when he was the third CB.
On Jarontay Jones, I find it hard to believe that there was no room for him. That he was basically written off here at least as having no position. If Tyrel Wilson can play ….
Immature and feeling entitled….wherever he transfers, they better have a major need at CB, because he obviously can’t take coaching or competition. These defections may hurt depth but I’m willing to bet addition by subtraction in the team chemistry department.
Get the sense Manning lacks heart to compete but hope I’m wrong. Because if true he’s in for a rude awakening when he hits the real world. Wish him the best but would like to see him face some adversity and deal with it before picking up and moving on.
I could care less……he is now ancient history. I hope he doesn’t think he can go back to one of the OTHER schools who offered. If he couldn’t hang at VT, he won’t be playing in The SEC anytime soon!
I assume he was never really happy here. Remember he almost left last year too. Some people can’t cope well so far away from home. Remember he is only 19-20 years old. I doubt its a PT thing.
I agree, feels like homesickness as much as anything, given the pattern of behavior (i.e., taking time off even when he was fully in the mix).
It could even at least be in part the winters here compared to South Florida. He wasn’t happy here so he did what he thought was best. I can’t hate a guy for that.