The Carolina Panthers might’ve just taken a Super Bowl ring away from Ilm Manning. But hey, at least they gave him a shot at the playing field.
As announced on Thursday, the team has signed the 24-year-old offensive lineman away from the San Francisco 49ers’ practice squad. He will now, as a result of the poaching, join the Panthers’ active roster.
A Glendale, Ariz. native, Manning was a standout athlete during his time at Apollo High School. In addition to being a two-way player for the football team’s offensive and defensive lines, he was also a member of the basketball and track and field squads.
Manning moved on to play his college ball—football, that is—at the University of Hawaii beginning in 2018. In his fifth and final year in Honolulu, Manning earned First-team All-MW honors for his work at left tackle.
The 6-foot-2, 294-pounder then cracked into the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the 49ers this past spring.
