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Mancz reflects on senior season

UT's senior center looks back at his collegiate career

Keith Boggs, Sports Reporter

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At the end of his final regular season at the University of Toledo, senior center Greg Mancz had to do something he hadn’t done in 38-straight games.

He had to watch from the sidelines.

The first-team All-Mid-American Conference center sat out UT’s crucial MAC West loss to NIU, as well as the final regular season home game against Bowling Green State University, with a knee injury. He also did not start in Toledo’s season finale at Eastern Michigan.

“It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” Mancz said. “I’m not a fan of watching games, even in my freshman year when I redshirted.

“At the same time, if I’m not the best option, I shouldn’t be out there on the field.”

It’s just another example of Mancz’s selflessness. He has been recognized for his excellence both on and off of the field, most recently being nominated for the Allstate Good Works Award by the NCAA.

“Coach [Matt] Campbell always says to give more than you take, and that’s something that I’m looking forward to in the bowl season,” Mancz said. “I’m excited to do that and hopefully we can get some of the younger guys to commit to doing some things as well.”

A Cincinnati native and Academic All-American nominee, Mancz currently holds a 3.5 GPA as a grad student.

Stability in the classroom and on the field are both essential to Mancz, and after playing in 38 consecutive games it was a tough task for him to have to sit on the sidelines and watch his team play while nursing his injury.

When he was on the field, however, Mancz has been true force. An anchor for an offensive line that, in 2013, gave up an NCAA-low five sacks, Mancz transitioned to the center position for his final season at Toledo, helping sophomore Kareem Hunt pile rushing yardage up in chunks.

“I think it’s a byproduct of the team being successful,” Mancz said. “I have guys around me who helped make the position change a lot easier, not to mention Kareem, who ran for all those yards per carry.”

Mancz’s efforts on the field have garnered him recognition on the next level of football. He has been invited to participate in the East-West Shrine game, in which he can display his talents to NFL coaches and executives.

He also has a rising draft stock, establishing himself as one of the best centers in the country in just one season at the position. CBSsports.com has him rated as the seventh-best center prospect in the country.

“It’s a blessing,” Mancz said of the opportunities and recognition. “But I still have a lot to prove. I have two games left in my guaranteed career, so I still have a lot to prove because top ten isn’t the intended goal.”

To be successful a center, you have to be on the same page and have a high level of cohesiveness with your fellow linemen. It’s something you see among successful NFL offensive lines and something Mancz said he and his fellow lineman work at.

They’ve had plenty of time to practice. This season’s UT offensive line has been together for the entirety of Mancz’s college career.

“We watch everyone, a lot of NFL lineman,” he said. “Just as a senior line, we watch some teams, like Cleveland and try and pick some stuff up. Alex Mack, is one of those guys, he’s one of the best centers in the league.”

Mancz’s collegiate career was filled with achievements, awards and success, but he and his fellow seniors now have to leave knowing they failed to hoist a MAC Championship trophy.

“It never gets any easier,” he said. “But I told the younger guys, you have to break through next year. You could be close and never get it; it just doesn’t feel the same.

“I’m really happy with how the team always fought. Everything didn’t turn out the way we liked, but we stayed together, didn’t have any internal squabbles.”

Regardless of whether or not he got that conference championship, Mancz finished his college career as an extremely decorated player, with a bright future on and off the field.

He couldn’t have imagined things turning out as well as they did for himself and his fellow offensive linemen, but he was never going to sell himself short.

“You can dream right?” Mancz said. “We all came in with these goals and aspirations, and I’d like to think I reached some of them. I’m thankful for my five years, all with the same coaches.

“That’s been a blessing.”

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Serving the University of Toledo community since 1919.
Mancz reflects on senior season