Chicago Bears, Chicago Cubs, Chicago Bulls
Chicago Bears Tickets Chicago Cubs Tickets Chicago Bulls Tickets Chicago Blackhawks
visited *loading* times
Current Chicago Bear cornerback and former UCLA Bruin Ricky Manning Jr. was charged with assault after allegedly hitting another man in the face at a restaurant on April 23.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Manning and former Bruins football players Maurice Drew and Tyler Ebell were all officially charged on Thursday.
Manning was arrested the same day as the alleged attack and was released on $30,000 bail. One day after the arrest, his former team the Carolina Panthers, declined to match a five-year offer sheet Manning had previously signed with the Bears.
Manning played in all 55 of Carolina's regular-season and post-season contests since being selected in the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft, accruing 30 starts and 13 interceptions over that span.
In 2003, Manning intercepted Donovan McNabb three times in the NFC Championship game to guide the Panthers past the Philadelphia Eagles and into their first-ever Super Bowl.
Drew, a running back, was selected in the second round of the 2006 draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was UCLA's leading rusher the past three seasons before leaving the school after his junior year for the NFL.
According to the paper, both Drew and Ebell were not arrested with Manning the day of the alleged attack.
Bears roll out red carpet for Danieal Manning
Billy Bob Thornton played the role of Gary Gaines in the movie version of "Friday Night Lights." So, until last weekend, either Gaines or former NFL player Wilbert Montgomery were the most famous entities associated with Abilene Christian football.
But Gaines, who resigned earlier this year after five seasons with the school, thinks that will change.
"Danieal (Manning) is the highest draft choice they've ever had in the history of the school," the former coach said Monday from his office in Odessa, Texas, where he now serves as executive director of athletics for the Ector County Independent School District. "I told my wife we're going to have to get some Bears paraphernalia down here in west Texas."
That's because Manning, Gaines' star player at Abilene Christian, had the red carpet rolled out for him on his first visit to Chicago, hours after the Bears made him their first overall pick in the NFL draft.
A Sunday night TV appearance was followed by a Monday morning news conference at Halas Hall, where Manning displayed the humility and respectful nature that Gaines grew so accustomed to while coaching him.
"He's confident, but it's a modest type of confidence, not a braggadocio-type thing," Gaines said. "He backs up everything on the field. And he's an intense, hard-playing team player.
"As great as he was for us, he never put himself above the team. He always bragged about his teammates. That's refreshing."
Indeed, these qualities were on display as Manning detailed his atypical route from Corsicana, Texas, to being a non-qualifier at Nebraska to becoming a star at Division II Abilene Christian.
Peppering his answers with "yes sir" and "no, ma'am," Manning also flashed a sense of humor, joking how he never had heard of Lovie Smith's hometown of Big Sandy, Texas, until the Bears' coach visited him for a predraft workout.
"(Corsicana) is bigger than Big Sandy anyway," Manning said.
But don't mistake Manning's humble nature and small-town roots for a lack of confidence. Asked if he thinks he could start as a rookie, which would mean unseating either Mike Brown or Chris Harris at safety, Manning didn't hesitate.
"Deep down inside, I really know I could. No doubt about that," he said.
The Bears would be happy if Manning could solidify one or both of the punt and kick return jobs while serving as an adequate backup.
"He has come here with the right attitude," general manager Jerry Angelo said. "He's very passionate about what he does. He has a strong foundation in terms of his family and is very grounded."
Indeed, family and faith formed the backbone to guide Manning through his valleys, the times when even he doubted scouts would find him to make his boyhood dream come true.
After missing by one point the 820 qualifying score on his SAT to be eligible at Nebraska, Manning secured a job at the Lincoln Journal Star newspaper. He said he started off cleaning floors and stacking papers before graduating to running the printing machine.
That's when, even though he lifted weights and ran on a track to stay in shape, not playing football for the first time since he was 7 really hit him.
"Working the press, seeing those guys' names, it really hit me," Manning said of his would-be Cornhusker teammates.
Rather than wait another semester to try the SAT again, Manning heeded the advice of his grandfather, Tinnis, and father, Joe, and returned home with an eye on transferring to Abilene Christian.
"They were the ones who made me feel comfortable about coming home because I actually felt like I let a lot of people down, including myself," Manning said. "My dad said, `That's OK. This isn't the road God chose for you.' I came back home, started over, and it was the best move I made."
First, Manning had to sit through another season of no football because of transfer rules.
"He never complained, but I knew it was just killing him," Gaines said.
Manning again leaned on his tight-knit family, which includes his mother, Tammie, a younger brother, Jonte, and two sisters. Manning also has a son named for his younger brother, and his fiance, Latesha Cumby, is expecting their second boy in July.
"I told her we might have to hold off on (wedding planning)," Manning said. "I didn't expect all this to happen that fast."
Gaines, who coached in high school when "Friday Night Lights" was written, said he isn't surprised the whirlwind has begun. Abilene's Lone Star conference has produced other pros, including Gene Upshaw and Darrell Green, and Manning's talent and work ethic always stood out.
Manning, not surprisingly, credited his family for that.
"My mom is a very inspiring person," he said. "She raised all four of us while working two or three jobs. It was tough on her. But I got to see hard work and never giving up.
"And now her kid is getting ready to graduate, has a son and is getting ready to play in the (NFL). She's getting ready to enjoy life now."
