senior_profile04.html

<HTML>
<HEAD>
   <TITLE></TITLE>
   </HEAD>
<BODY>

<table border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 width=450><td>

<H1 ALIGN=CENTER><font color="#3333FF">Senior Profile</FONT> </H1>

<H3 ALIGN=CENTER><FONT COLOR="#FF8000"><I>Sammy Manno:  Punter
</I></FONT></H3>
<p><center></center><p>
<!--
<H3 ALIGN=CENTER><FONT COLOR="#FF8000"><I>By Adam Prendergast</I></FONT></H3>
-->


<TABLE ALIGN=RIGHT CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 WIDTH=152>
<TR>
<TD><IMG SRC="Manno1.jpg" ALT="Sammy Manno" BORDER=2 ALIGN=RIGHT>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD><B><FONT SIZE=2></FONT></B>
</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
<P>When Sammy Manno trotted onto the field in front of over 106,000 screaming fans at Tennessee's Neyland Stadium this year, he was about to kick his first collegiate punt. Nervous?
<P>"Well, yeah, of course," Manno said. "I was just hoping I could catch the ball when they snapped it to me. I wasn't worried about the punt."
<P>Manno did catch the ball and punted it 39 yards, a fairly routine play for everyone else, yet for him it was the fruit of four years of shagging balls and, at best, punting on the scout team in practice.
<P>It feels good to work for something so long and it finally pays off," Manno said. "A lot of time and effort went into it."
<P>Now Manno has earned a role as the starting holder on extra points and field goals as well as serving as the backup punter behind Damon Duval. He also has become Auburn's "pooch" punter on short yardage situations.
<P>While he relishes his new role, there were times when Manno felt like he'd never move up on the depth chart.
<P>"It seemed like every year I thought I'd move up, they'd recruit a new punter," Manno said.
<P>Frustration set in, and there were times he wondered if it was all worth it. But quitting seemed the easy way out.
<P>"If I thought it wasn't worth it, I would've quit," Manno said. "But my dad taught me never to quit. Plus I had already put so much time into playing football. I figured I might as well finish it out."
<P>Manno came to Auburn in 1995 out of Montgomery's Lee High School. Going back to his little league days, Manno was always a punter.
<P>"It was just something I could always do," Manno said. "My dad taught me how to punt in the back yard. Even in little league, I was always the punter." While he earned All-State honors his senior year, Manno didn't receive any scholarship offers.
<P>"I got a lot of letters, but not any offers. I didn't even hear from Auburn until I sent them a tape," Manno said.
Manno decided the proximity of Auburn to home was a huge factor.
<P>"My dad liked Auburn and offered to send me there. My family's just 45 minutes away, so I get to see them a lot," Manno said.
<P>Manno also played baseball, pole vaulted in track, and wrestled one year.
<P>"I wrestled at 160 (weight class), but I only weighed about 145," Manno said.
<P>Competing in pole vault was something he enjoyed, but also felt obligated to do.
<P>"My baseball coach knew I ran track in junior high. So he came up to me one day and said 'Oh, I signed you up for track'. I had three days of practice before the sectional meet.
<P>Manno is scheduled to graduate in the winter with a degree in exercise science. He plans to enroll in graduate school at Auburn to get his Masters in Exercise Physiology.
<P>"I'll probably work at a hospital or clinic, something like that," Manno said. "Or I might go into the research side of it, maybe researching new or better methods of exercise." But Manno's not in too much of a hurry to start grad school.
<P>"I'm going to take the spring off," Manno said. "I'm going to wait until we start the semester system next year."
<P>What's he going to do with all that spare time in the spring?
<P>"I'm going to try to learn how to play guitar."


<TABLE ALIGN=RIGHT CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 WIDTH=152>
<TR>
<TD><IMG SRC="Manno2.jpg" ALT="Sammy Manno" BORDER=2 ALIGN=RIGHT>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD><B><FONT SIZE=2></FONT></B>
</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>


<P>&nbsp;
<p><h3>Up Close With Sammy Manno</h3><P>
<B>If they were going to make a movie about you, who would you want to play you?</B>
<BR><I>"Sylvester Stallone."</I>

<P><B>What's the best thing you can cook?</B>
<BR><I>"I tried lasagna, that didn't work too well.  I can cook steak pretty well though, that's something I can do."</I>

<P><B>If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? </B>
<BR><I>"I'd go to Europe.  I have some friends who have been and they really liked it.  I'd like to go to Italy and see where my family is from!"</I>


<CENTER><P><A HREF="main.html" target="_top">TABLE OF CONTENTS</A> | <A HREF="../main_afi.html" target="_top">PROGRAM
INDEX</A> | <A HREF="http://www.aunetwork.com" target="_top">HOME</A></P></CENTER>

<P ALIGN=CENTER><I>&copy; 1999 Auburn Network, Inc.</I></P>

</td></table>
</BODY>
</HTML>
	<HTML>
	<HEAD>
	<TITLE></TITLE>
	</HEAD>
	<BODY>

	<table border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 width=450><td>

	<H1 ALIGN=CENTER><font color="#3333FF">Senior Profile</FONT> </H1>

	<H3 ALIGN=CENTER><FONT COLOR="#FF8000"><I>Sammy Manno: Punter
	</I></FONT></H3>
	<p><center></center><p>
	<!--
	<H3 ALIGN=CENTER><FONT COLOR="#FF8000"><I>By Adam Prendergast</I></FONT></H3>
	-->






	<TABLE ALIGN=RIGHT CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 WIDTH=152>
	<TR>
	<TD><IMG SRC="Manno1.jpg" ALT="Sammy Manno" BORDER=2 ALIGN=RIGHT>
	</TD>
	</TR>
	<TR>
	<TD><B><FONT SIZE=2></FONT></B>
	</TD>
	</TR>
	</TABLE>
	<P>When Sammy Manno trotted onto the field in front of over 106,000 screaming fans at Tennessee's Neyland Stadium this year, he was about to kick his first collegiate punt. Nervous?
	<P>"Well, yeah, of course," Manno said. "I was just hoping I could catch the ball when they snapped it to me. I wasn't worried about the punt."
	<P>Manno did catch the ball and punted it 39 yards, a fairly routine play for everyone else, yet for him it was the fruit of four years of shagging balls and, at best, punting on the scout team in practice.
	<P>It feels good to work for something so long and it finally pays off," Manno said. "A lot of time and effort went into it."
	<P>Now Manno has earned a role as the starting holder on extra points and field goals as well as serving as the backup punter behind Damon Duval. He also has become Auburn's "pooch" punter on short yardage situations.
	<P>While he relishes his new role, there were times when Manno felt like he'd never move up on the depth chart.
	<P>"It seemed like every year I thought I'd move up, they'd recruit a new punter," Manno said.
	<P>Frustration set in, and there were times he wondered if it was all worth it. But quitting seemed the easy way out.
	<P>"If I thought it wasn't worth it, I would've quit," Manno said. "But my dad taught me never to quit. Plus I had already put so much time into playing football. I figured I might as well finish it out."
	<P>Manno came to Auburn in 1995 out of Montgomery's Lee High School. Going back to his little league days, Manno was always a punter.
	<P>"It was just something I could always do," Manno said. "My dad taught me how to punt in the back yard. Even in little league, I was always the punter." While he earned All-State honors his senior year, Manno didn't receive any scholarship offers.
	<P>"I got a lot of letters, but not any offers. I didn't even hear from Auburn until I sent them a tape," Manno said.
	Manno decided the proximity of Auburn to home was a huge factor.
	<P>"My dad liked Auburn and offered to send me there. My family's just 45 minutes away, so I get to see them a lot," Manno said.
	<P>Manno also played baseball, pole vaulted in track, and wrestled one year.
	<P>"I wrestled at 160 (weight class), but I only weighed about 145," Manno said.
	<P>Competing in pole vault was something he enjoyed, but also felt obligated to do.
	<P>"My baseball coach knew I ran track in junior high. So he came up to me one day and said 'Oh, I signed you up for track'. I had three days of practice before the sectional meet.
	<P>Manno is scheduled to graduate in the winter with a degree in exercise science. He plans to enroll in graduate school at Auburn to get his Masters in Exercise Physiology.
	<P>"I'll probably work at a hospital or clinic, something like that," Manno said. "Or I might go into the research side of it, maybe researching new or better methods of exercise." But Manno's not in too much of a hurry to start grad school.
	<P>"I'm going to take the spring off," Manno said. "I'm going to wait until we start the semester system next year."
	<P>What's he going to do with all that spare time in the spring?
	<P>"I'm going to try to learn how to play guitar."


	<TABLE ALIGN=RIGHT CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 WIDTH=152>
	<TR>
	<TD><IMG SRC="Manno2.jpg" ALT="Sammy Manno" BORDER=2 ALIGN=RIGHT>
	</TD>
	</TR>
	<TR>
	<TD><B><FONT SIZE=2></FONT></B>
	</TD>
	</TR>
	</TABLE>



	<P>
	<p><h3>Up Close With Sammy Manno</h3><P>
	<B>If they were going to make a movie about you, who would you want to play you?</B>
	<BR><I>"Sylvester Stallone."</I>

	<P><B>What's the best thing you can cook?</B>
	<BR><I>"I tried lasagna, that didn't work too well. I can cook steak pretty well though, that's something I can do."</I>

	<P><B>If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? </B>
	<BR><I>"I'd go to Europe. I have some friends who have been and they really liked it. I'd like to go to Italy and see where my family is from!"</I>



	<CENTER><P><A HREF="main.html" target="_top">TABLE OF CONTENTS</A> \| <A HREF="../main_afi.html" target="_top">PROGRAM
	INDEX</A> \| <A HREF="http://www.aunetwork.com" target="_top">HOME</A></P></CENTER>

	<P ALIGN=CENTER><I>© 1999 Auburn Network, Inc.</I></P>

	</td></table>
	</BODY>
	</HTML>