Five star receiver building relationships

OCALA, Fla. – Class of 2020 wide receiver Leonard Manuel looks the part of a big-time receiver and the junior-to-be still has two years of high school football to get even better before setting foot on any campus to start his collegiate career.

Checking in at 6-foot-5, 200 pounds, Manuel is already rated as a five-star by Rivals.com and holds more than a dozen offers. At one point, he was committed to Miami but that did not stick, and Manuel is back on the market after some advice from his parents.

"Me talking to my parents and they thought that I should decommit and weigh out all my options because I had taken a recent (visit) to Georgia and took a couple during the summer and I just looked at other schools," Manuel said.

That does not mean that the Canes are out, but they are going to have to work hard to get him back in the fold as schools are trying to pry him out of the state of Florida with several out-of-state schools looking at him besides Ohio State. Manuel listed Penn State, Tennessee, Georgia, Clemson and Nebraska as a few of the schools that have come on as of late.

A recent offer from Ohio State meant a lot.

"Ohio State was a big offer just because growing up as a kid, playing NCAA (video game), everybody always wanted to play with Ohio State," Manuel added. "That was one of my biggest dream schools. It was a blessing."

More than the video game however, Manuel is aware of what Ohio State has done through the years on the football field and has been developing a relationship with Zach Smith as he and the Buckeyes become more familiar with one another.

"We talk a lot, we share a good relationship," Manuel said. "He just asks me how I am doing and about my grades and my parents."

Manuel says he would like to make it up to Columbus (Ohio) over the summer to check things out but probably not for a camp.

While it looks like Manuel is just a sure-fire lock on offense, he also plays safety for his Vanguard high school team and said that a couple of schools have looked at him on the defensive side of the ball and that he loves the physicality of the game when he has the 'opportunity to hit someone and not get in trouble'.