For many people, going to college or landing a dream job means moving out of state. Not so for Sherrick McManis.
The Bears cornerback has lived most of his life and played most of his career in Illinois. Born and raised in Peoria, McManis played for Northwestern during the 2006-09 seasons and, after two seasons in Houston, has called Soldier Field home turf since 2012.
Yet McManis is no stranger to change. In four seasons with the Bears, he’s played under three head coaches. In four years at Northwestern, he experienced firsthand the changes the school’s football program has undergone in recent years under coach Pat Fitzgerald.
McManis said he feels no small sense of pride when he sees billboards promoting the Wildcats as “Chicago’s Big Ten Team.” The Wildcats, who had a 4-8 record during Fitzgerald and McManis’ first season, went on to five consecutive bowl games from 2008-12. This year, they return to postseason for the Outback Bowl on New Year’s Day (11 a.m., ESPN2).
The 27-year-old, who played in the Alamo Bowl and Outback Bowl, said he has simple advice for the team.
“Just enjoy it. This could be their last time playing football, especially for the seniors,” said McManis, who has a degree in communication from NU. “I think they did a great job this season. … Just finish strong and get the bowl game [victory].”
Having earned a reputation as a special-teams ace in college and in the NFL, McManis expressed at the beginning of this season hopes of changing things up and earning a regular spot on the defense.
But after starting at nickel cornerback a couple of times during the preseason, McManis made a few costly mistakes in the regular season—most notably missing a tackle during the fourth quarter Nov. 1 against Minnesota that led to a game-tying touchdown (the Vikings eventually won). Rookie Bryce Callahan has supplanted him at nickel for most of the season.
With the 5-8 Bears heading into the last few games of 2015, it’s not clear what other changes might be in store for McManis and the rest of the defense. But regardless of what’s going on around him, his consistency and work ethic stand out to his teammates.
“He comes every day and works hard and shows you how to be a pro,” rookie safety Adrian Amos said. “Whatever the team needs him to do, that’s what he does, whether it’s on special teams, playing nickel on defense. He’s just [got] a positive attitude in the locker room.”
Now in his sixth year in the league, McManis said he’s adjusting to being considered a veteran.
“Something you realize as you continue to go through more and more years, you just adapt to it, and you know some things that you can help the young guys get through that maybe somebody helped you with in the past, when you were a rookie,” he said. “So I think it’s a blessing to even be called a veteran in this league. You’re doing something right.”
SHERRICK’S REPORT CARD
Because McManis graduated from Northwestern, where he said keeping up his grades was both a challenge and something he’s proud of, we turned the tables and gave him the power to assign grades to everything from beating Green Bay to his sense of style.
Beating Green Bay on Thanksgiving at Lambeau Field: A
Northwestern’s 10-2 record: B
His level of preparedness for the impending arrival of his first child: C. “There’s some things that you learn and you plan to expect, but I’m sure as the baby comes, we’re going to be learning something new every day.”
Who on the team has an A+ sense of style: “Mr. [Matt] Forte is all right. He got a little style.”
His own sense of style: “Better than Forte’s.” [Ed’s note: So an A++, perhaps?]
What grade his 18-year-old self starting out as a freshman at Northwestern would give his current self: B+. “I’m pretty proud of where I’m going and where I’ve been. I think they would be pretty happy knowing they made it to the NFL. [It’s] a dream come true.”
THE BOOK ON MCMANIS
Sherrick McManis has been a consistent spark on special teams for the Bears. The cornerback leads the team in special teams tackles this season with 14 after finishing second in that category in 2013 (15) and 2014 (13). For the seasons covering 2012-15, no Bears player has more special teams tackles than McManis’ 52. Here’s a look at his career numbers with both the Bears and Houston:
75 games
57 solo tackles
17 assisted tackles
1 interception
1 forced fumble
2 fumble recoveries
Source: Chicago Bears, NFL.com
Elise De Los Santos is RedEye’s night editor. @elisekdelo
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