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And as Chris promised, here is his feature on Manny:
Career winding down for LU's emotional leader
By Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
November 7, 2006
Football is a macho sport, so it was a little surprising last November to see Liberty linebacker Manny Rojas sitting outside the locker room inside Norfolk State's gymnasium crying.
Unless you know him.
The display was genuine Rojas. He's been an emotional sparkplug for the four years that he's been in a Liberty uniform, a guy who screams in practice and does anything possible during games to get his teammates fired up.
"He truly is the heartbeat of this football team right now," Liberty coach Danny Rocco said.
After Saturday, that pulse at Williams Stadium will fall faint. Rojas will play his final home game against Charleston Southern, something that hasn't fully registered with the Pittsburgh native.
"I'm sure a time will come this week when I sit back and think about it," Rojas said. "It's a weird feeling."
When Rojas' career ends Nov. 18 at VMI, he'll likely sit No. 2 on the Big South's career tackles list (he trails Coastal Carolina senior Jamar Leath by 10). He'll be one of Liberty's top 10 all-time tacklers, though he'll be well behind John Sanders, who finished his career in 1982 with 522 tackles.
Those numbers are fine, but what Liberty will miss is Rojas' leadership and frank candor.
"When I'm excited, I'll make sure everyone knows," Rojas said. "When I'm (mad), I'll make sure everyone knows. When I'm sad, everyone knows it."
That was the case outside the locker room in Norfolk. Liberty's 1-10 season, which culminated with the firing of head coach Ken Karcher, took its toll on Rojas. When the clock ran out in the Norfolk State game, signaling the end of a coaching tenure and a hellacious season, Rojas let go.
Karcher was the only coach to offer Rojas a full scholarship, though Rojas got several looks from Division II schools after earning all-state honors and leading West Allegheny High School to a AAA championship as a senior. Rojas' sense of loyalty to his first college coach was understandable.
"I've never had to go through a real coaching change before, and I really wanted to win that one just for the coaches," Rojas said. "I wanted coach Karcher to leave on a positive note. He came in right off the bat and offered me a scholarship and gave me a chance to play I-AA ball. It was a real opportunity for me. I wish it could have been better when he was around."
That didn't mean Rojas would rebel against a new coach. His game was tailored for Rocco's 3-4 defensive scheme. Even after playing the 4-3 for three years, Rojas quickly learned the nuances of the 3-4. Playing the "mike" linebacker (an inside position), Rojas was responsible for quarterbacking the defense.
"The biggest thing we'll miss by Manny not being here is his mental presence on the field," Liberty junior outside linebacker Brandon Duke said. "We barely have to worry about where we line up or if we're going to make the right call, because we know he will."
As a middle linebacker in the 4-3, Rojas was more of a rover who needed to be lighter and quicker. In the 3-4, he attacks downfield and often battles guards who can weigh up to 80 pounds more than he does.
Rojas has been active and mobile, racking up 57 tackles, one behind team leader Stevie Ray Lloyd.
"He has a real passion for playing hard," Rocco said. "If I can get more guys thinking and acting and feeling and playing like Manny Rojas, we're going to get this thing turned around a lot quicker than people may think."
It wasn't easy for Rojas to be the positive leader his teammates have come to expect in the preseason when football took a brief backseat in Rojas' life.
In August, his father Manny Sr. suffered a massive heart attack, leaving Rojas shaken. After spending time in the hospital, Manny Sr. recovered nicely and used the heart attack as motivation to get in better shape. He's since dropped 35 pounds.
Rojas Jr. said he and his father are "best friends," and when he runs on to the field for the last time Saturday, his father will be in the stands watching.
If the enormity of the moment hasn't hit Rojas, it is weighing on the mind of Liberty linebackers coach Robert Wimberly.
"He's the first guy I've been with for three years, so it's tough to see him go," Wimberly said. "I never thought I'd be a Dick Vermeil guy that cries, but I will."
With Rojas' family in attendance Saturday, Wimberly might not be the only one.
Manny said he's going to try to find an agent and see if he can't get some free agent looks at an NFL training camp, much like VMI's Robert Mason got after his playing career was done. Having Bill Gillespie around helps. His NFL connections are invaluable.
Its tough if you don't have all the teams in for a pro timing day at your school. But obviously Samkon was able to get a workout with the Chiefs as was Paul Troth with the Texans despite his less than stellar numbers. Somebody will bring him in for rookie mini-camp and then he'll have his opportunity to try and impress them.
I think he's got an average shot at making it on the next level. With the high number of LBers required for teams and the high amount of turnover from the position, he'll get a look somwehere. Even though it's from the Big South, you can't ignore a conference's all time leader in tackles.
Actually he is second on the all time list behind a player from Coastal. He may not catch him because 10 is a lot to make up 1 at a time and they are both playing currently. Also Coastal could get extra games with the playoffs. Manny will get a shot but it is a hard knock life in the NFL.
I guess Manny took this final game at Williams Stadium seriously. He led the Flames with 11 tackles (including 1 for loss) and had the big interception of Drafts.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Coastal Carolina quarterback Tyler Thigpen and Liberty linebacker Manny Rojas have been named the Big South football Choice Hotels Offensive Player of the Week and New Balance Defensive Player of the Week, respectively, for games played during Week 11 (Nov. 11) of the 2006 season, it was announced today by the Conference office. In addition, Flames’ return specialist Wynton Jackson was selected as Special Teams Player of the Week, while Coastal Carolina defensive back Dominique Davenport garnered Freshman of the Week honors.
Thigpen, a senior from Winnsboro, S.C., was standout in Coastal’s 52-24 win over Gardner-Webb. He was 22-of-27 passing (81.5 percent) for 306 yards and two touchdowns, and added 119 rushing yards on 10 carries to finish with a school-record 425 yards of total offense. He connected on his first five pass attempts en route to his third 300-yard passing game of the year and his seventh 300+ total offense game of the season (Big South record). Thigpen directed Coastal to six touchdown drives of 75 yards-or-longer as well as 638 total yards, a record for a Big South Conference match-up. His 76-yard run in the fourth quarter was the fifth-longest rush from scrimmage in Big South history, and he became the first player in League history to surpass 3,000 yards of total offense in a season and the first quarterback in Big South history to rush for 500 yards in a campaign.
Rojas, a redshirt-senior from Oakdale, Pa., helped the Flames hold Charleston Southern’s potent offense to just 265 yards, its second lowest output of the season, as well as two offensive touchdowns (both rushing) in Liberty’s 34-20 win over the Buccaneers. He posted a team-high 11 tackles (three solo, eight assists), his second-straight double figure tackle game, and picked off a pass and returned it 13 yards late in the second quarter. The win snapped Liberty’s six-game Conference losing streak and Charleston Southern’s 14-game win streak.
Jackson, a junior from Jacksonville, Va., became the second Flame this year to return a kickoff for a touchdown. After CSU returned a punt for a touchdown, Jackson returned the ensuing kickoff 80 yards for a score to push Liberty’s lead to 20-7. He also added three punt returns for 24 yards (8.0 average), including a 22-yard return, his third-longest of the year. The Flames now rank sixth nationally in kickoff return average at 24.3 yards.
Davenport, a freshman from Bonaire, Ga., helped fill in for the injured Dewitt Myers and recorded a career-best seven tackles (three solo, four assists) in the road win at Gardner-Webb, tying for third-highest on the squad. He helped the Chanticleers’ defense hold Gardner-Webb to 97 total yards in the first half as well force a League-record five interceptions, including four in the second half.
thats funny
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