Giovanni Manu

Offensive Tackle, Detroit Lions · #59.

Player facts

Team: Detroit Lions
Position: Offensive Tackle
Number: 59
Born: Jan 26, 2001 (age 25)
Birthplace: Pitt Meadows, BC, Canada
Height: 6' 7"
Weight: 345 lbs
College: British Columbia
Experience: 3 seasons
Status: Day-To-Day

About

Werner "Giovanni" Manu (born January 26, 2001) is a Tongan-Canadian professional American football offensive tackle for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played Canadian football in U Sports for the UBC Thunderbirds. Manu was selected by the Lions in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL draft.

From Wikipedia’s article on Giovanni Manu, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.¹

Background

Early life

Manu was born on January 26, 2001, in Tonga. He moved to British Columbia in Canada to live with an aunt at the age of 11. He entered the Pitt Meadows Secondary School and tried out football soon after. He also played basketball.

College career

Manu enrolled at the University of British Columbia in 2018 and redshirted his first year on the UBC Thunderbirds football team. He won a starting role on the offensive line in 2019 as the team went 2–6. The 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Manu then started all seven games at left tackle in 2021. He started games at both left tackle and left guard in 2022 and was selected second-team All-Canadian. He and fellow Thunderbirds offensive lineman Theo Benedet were both ranked as among the top prospects for the 2023 CFL draft, but opted to return to UBC for a final season. He repeated as a second-team All-Canadian choice in the 2023 selection and helped UBC make their first appearance in the Vanier Cup since 2015.

From Wikipedia’s article on Giovanni Manu, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article.¹