Neshaminy's Manzyk Signs to Play Football at New Hampshire

On Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018, Neshaminy senior Oleh Manzyk signed a National Letter of Intent to the University of New Hampshire. (Photos provided courtesy of Neshaminy Football)

Oleh Manzyk – University of New Hampshire (Football)

Final list of colleges:  UNH, Maine, St. Francis, Morgan State

Reasons for choosing New Hampshire:  “When I was up there, it really felt like home. I really liked the coaching staff and the great history and program they’ve had over the past couple of years.
“They came and talked to me after my sophomore year, and they offered me towards the end of my junior year. That summer I went up to visit, and that’s when it really started clicking that this school might be an option for me. The interest they showed was incredible. They treat their recruits as one of their players. They texted me at least once a week before every game.”

What was the progression that led you to competing in football at the collegiate level?  “It’s been crazy. I started playing football in seventh grade for fun because all my friends were doing it. In eighth grade, I went to a camp, and I realized I could make something out of this. Once I hit high school, it just became a whole different game because there’s more of the mental part of it. I just really learned to love the game of football.”

Coach Steve Wilmot says:  “Every year we have a youth camp, and the oldest you can do the youth camp is the summer after eighth grade going into ninth grade. Oleh came out to our youth camp and just destroyed it. He was the MVP, and he was doing all these great things. We saw a kid who was physically ready to play. We gave him an invite right there to play up on our varsity/jayvee team. He played with us as a ninth grader. In my first game as a head coach, we’re up in Montclair, N.J., and it was a slugfest because they have a good program, and we’ve generally been a good program. It was a tight game in the fourth quarter, and we needed a guy to get in there and chase down the quarterback. Oleh, in his first game as a true freshman, gets in there and sacks the quarterback. It’s been almost a storybook career for him.
“Oleh has a lot of drive and desire. God gave him the athletic ability, but he really wants to get out there every day and use it and compete at a high level. Every day he steps out on the field he’s just trying to compete against himself to do better and better. There was a lot of drive behind his athleticism.
“Oleh got all-state in 10th grade at tight end, but he was really like a stand-up wide receiver. We could put him anywhere, and a lot of times we did. In his time here at Neshaminy, he’s played defensive line, he’s played outside linebacker/inside linebacker, he’s played running back, tight end, wide receiver. He’s done a little bit of everything.
“He’s projected to play linebacker in college. He’s a big strong kid, but he’s also a student of the game. When you’re a linebacker, you really have to be a student of the game. There’s a lot of things you have to understand, and there’s a lot of film work that has to be done, and Oleh always seems to be able to do all that stuff. He asks good, intelligent questions. He’s more an outside linebacker than he is an inside linebacker, but here at Neshaminy we needed him as an inside linebacker, and he did what he had to do. He’ll play wherever. He’s very even keeled. He never got too excited when things were going good, and he definitely never got down on himself when things were going bad. He’s very even keeled, and I think the kids gravitated to him because of that.”

About Oleh:
Favorite food: 
Chicken
Favorite movie:  Friday Night Lights
Favorite music:  Meek Mill

Career Statistics
236 Tackles
14 Sacks
41 Tackles for Losses
9 Forced Fumbles
7 Fumble Recoveries
72 Receptions for 1,520 yards
106 Carries for 725 yards
38 Touchdowns
Postseason awards (as of 12-14-18)
2018 (Captain)
Bucks County Courier Times Golden Team – 1st Team Linebacker
Suburban One National Conference – 1st Team Linebacker
2017 (Captain
PA Football News – 1st Team All-State Linebacker
Philadelphia Inquirer – 1st Team All-Southeastern PA Linebacker
Bucks County Courier Times Defensive Player of the Year
Bucks County Courier Times Golden Team – 1st Team Linebacker
Suburban One National Conference – 1st Team Linebacker
Neshaminy Defensive MVP
2016
PA Football News – 1st Team All-State – Tight End
EPA/WPA All-State Super 25 Team – Tight End
Penn Preps – 1st Team All-State Tight End
Bucks County Courier Times Golden Team – 1st Team Linebacker
Suburban One National Conference – 1st Team Linebakcer

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