Hello: Josiah Manu, Colorado OT Commit

Deion Sanders’ first in-state pledge for the class of 2026 is also one of his most under-the-radar.

Loveland (Colo.) Thompson Valley offensive lineman Josiah Manu isn’t a household name nationally. He comes in as a low to mid-tier three-star recruit by 247Sports, ranked just #1334 overall in the country. For context, that would make him one of the lowest-rated high school commits of the Deion Sanders era at Colorado.

Dig deeper, however, and there’s plenty to intrigue. Manu is a 6’5”, 295-pound offensive lineman that earned first-team All-State honors as only a sophomore and even won his conference’s Offensive Player of the Year award last season, which is a rare feat for a lineman. Let’s break down why fans should pay attention to this under-the-radar pickup.

GURU RATINGS

• 247Sports: ★★★ (86 grade), #106 OT nationally, #14 player in Colorado (2026 class)
• On3: ★★★ (unrated in On3’s own rankings; industry consensus similar to 247)
• ESPN: Unrated (no evaluation yet)
• Rivals: Unrated (no evaluation yet; a local Rivals affiliate did a Q&A, but no national rating)

Manu is a low-to-mid three-star prospect. He has an 86 ranking on 247 and no ranking on On3 or ESPN (he’s under the radar, folks.). He’s not a blue chip player by any measure according to the recruiting sites. For comparison, CU’s 2024 high school signees had an average rating around 0.885. It’s important to know, however, that recruiting rankings for offensive linemen can be fickle.

SCOUTING: Aggressive Mauler with Room to Grow

Check out Manu’s film — I love seeing 295-pound offensive linemen driving 210-pound defensive tackles 30 yards downfield and into the dirt.

Colorado’s coaches “fell in love with Manu’s aggressiveness” when they turned on his tape, per 247sports.com. The first thing that stands out on tape is his finishing ability. If he gets his hands on a defender, he’s trying to drive them into the dirt. At 6’5” and 295 lbs, he’s been able to simply overwhelm most 3A defenders in Colorado. He does so with a noticeable nastiness — it makes it fun to watch his highlight film.

Manu starts on both sides of the ball (offensive tackle and defensive tackle) for TVHS. You can see when he’s playing defense that he loves contact and loves to hit people. Offensively, his run blocking is ahead of his pass blocking. On run blocks he comes off the ball with low pad level and plenty of pop, often pancaking would-be tacklers. It’s no wonder one source inside the Ford Indoor Practice Facility (see how I did that?) noted that the Buffs staff love his film. His tape is full of Manu burying smaller players and creating gaping holes.

That said, evaluating linemen in 3A Colorado high school football playing against inferior competition can be tricky. The competition level is a double-edged sword: Thompson Valley plays in Class 3A, a middle tier of Colorado prep football (5A being the largest schools). While Manu’s team just won the 3A state title, it’s fair to say he hasn’t regularly faced Division I-caliber defensive linemen on Friday nights. He’s often the biggest guy on the field by a wide margin. More specifically, this raises questions about his pass protection technique and foot speed, two traits that weren’t seriously stressed when you’re bulldozing 210-pound high school ends.

On film, Manu shows decent feet and an ability to get to the second level, but it’s something to monitor against the far more athletic edge rushers he’ll see in college. He’ll need to prove he can slide and mirror in pass pro when he’s not simply steamrolling opponents off the ball.

Leverage and technique are other areas for growth. Because he’s so physically dominant in his league, Manu can occasionally get away with raw form. For example, he sometimes leans into blocks. College coaching will need to refine his hand placement and footwork. There’s room for optimism on this front, though — you can see noticeable improvement from his sophomore film to his junior film. It’s clear that he’s improved his footwork the more that he has played.

One thing we won’t worry about is his mean streak. Unlike some big prospects who need to be taught to play aggressively, Manu has that edge already. You’ll often see him finish blocks 15 yards downfield. That mindset to finish blocks is hard to teach and is a big reason Colorado jumped on him once they found him. “[CU offensive line coach Gunnar White] said he was sorry he didn’t know about me sooner” Manu told local media after getting the offer. We suspect that once the Buff coaches saw the nastiness and potential on film, they moved fast.

Physical Measurables & Athleticism

Physically, Manu is ahead of the curve for his age. Legit 6-foot-5 offensive tackles don’t grow on trees in Colorado, and at 295 pounds he already looks like a college offensive lineman. For some perspective: the average NFL offensive tackle at the Combine is about 6’5” and 317 lbs. Manu is essentially already the height of an NFL tackle and about 93% of the weight of one ….all before his junior year of high school. Manu is not a “project” who needs to pack on 50 lbs. In fact, if anything, he may need to work with Coach Swasey on re-constituting his body makeup so that in 2-3 years he’s a 6’5″ 325 pound player that mows over defenders.

Manu’s strength at the point of attack is evident. We don’t have verified testing numbers, but he has decent athleticism. He plays basketball for Thompson Valley’s hoops team, which advanced to the Class 3A playoffs this past season. Basketball footword translates to offensive line play well. And even though he only averaged 2 points per game and 3 rebounds per game last season (hey those were miy high school basketball averages!), the fact that he’s playing and working on his footwork is a positive.

The main athletic question mark at this point is probably his foot speed against edge rushers. Until we see him in an environment like college camps or All-Star settings where he’s playing against high level competition, it’s hard to judge if he has the lateral quickness to play left tackle. I suspect it’s more likely he’ll be a guard. He did participate in the Polynesian Bowl, where he was named one of about 30 “standouts.” At the camp he played both guard and center. As far as we’ve been told, however, CU is recruiting him as a tackle. At least for now. One analyst noted that he showed a good initial punch and a strong lower base. https://247sports.com/article/2025-polynesian-bowl-national-showcase-and-combine-alpha-dog-marcus-fakatou-highlights-top-football-players-247605225/

RECRUITMENT: From Under-the-Radar to CU Commit

Manu’s recruiting journey has been unconventional. Coming off Thompson Valley’s undefeated state championship season (14–0) in 2024, he still wasn’t a known name in recruiting circles. His first FBS offers trickled in early 2025. San Jose State actually jumped in front. The Spartans identified him and got a verbal commitment from Manu on July 1, 2025, per 247sports.com. At that point, Colorado’s staff had not offered. Manu later said he wasn’t really on CU’s radar until midsummer.

However, in late July, CU’s staff took notice. Not long after, Colorado extended an offer despite his commitment to SJSU. Manu himself was a bit surprised: “To be honest, it kind of came out of nowhere,” he told 247Sports about the CU offer. But he also said it was “great to hear” that the Buffs loved his film and he said that Coach Gunnar White apologized for not finding him sooner. In any case, Colorado made it clear they valued him highly once they discovered him.

After receiving the CU offer, Manu quickly set up a visit to Boulder. It’s worth noting he already had a handful of FBS offers despite his low profile. His other offers were  Arizona,  Washington State, Fresno State and Wyoming.

Manu flipped his commitment from SJSU to Colorado in early August 2025, becoming CU’s first in-state commit for the 2026 cycle. He told the Denver Post that the move was all about challenging himself at a higher level. “Level of competition was the big thing,” the 295-pound lineman said of choosing Colorado over sticking with SJSU. “And seeing the field early is also an opportunity I’d have at CU as well.”

I don’t believe that Thompson Valley has ever sent a football player to CU. Cross-town rival Loveleland High School has sent several players to CU, including standouts like Jeremy Bloom and Dave McCloughan.

One fun note: with his commitment, Deion Sanders finally lands a Colorado high school offensive lineman, something that had been oddly missing. In 2023, Fossil Ridge’s Greg Ginther chose Tennessee, Cherry Creek’s Hayden Treter chose Southern Cal, Broomfield’s Landon Davidson chose Nebraska, Cherry Creek’s Max Parrot chose Purdue, Cherry Creek’s AJ Burton chose Iowa State, all over the Buffs. Manu’s pledge ends that drought and could be a play to build local ties. It certainly won’t hurt recruiting optics along the Front Range to show that if the Buffs will take notice and offer if merited.

HIGH SCHOOL & BACKGROUND

Thompson Valley High isn’t a traditional power in Colorado football as their 2024 title was the first football state championship in school history. Manu started on the offensive line from day one of his freshman year (he’s on track to be a four-year varsity starterby the time he graduates). 14-year-old freshman linemen very rarely crack the lineup at any program, even at a smaller high school.

By his junior year, he was dominant, paving the way for a run-heavy Eagles offense that went 14–0 and won the Class 3A title game. The fact that league coaches voted him Longs Peak League Offensive Player of the Year tells you how impactful he was as the large majority of the time that award goes to a quarterback, running back or wide receiver.

For the record, Thompson Valley High School is small enough that, per Wikipedia, it’s most famous alum is Kyle Howard. Who? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Howard

This guy is apparently Thompson Valley’s most famous alum. I have no idea who Kyle Howard is.

OUTLOOK: Development and Fit at Colorado

Typically, offensive linemen redshirt their first year on campus. It’s just a huge jump in competition and physicality. I would pencil in Manu for a redshirt in 2026, particularly given the jump in compeition from 3A Colorado high school football to Colorado. With the help of Coach Swasey, Manu can reshape his body a bit (turning any baby fat into muscle, adding maybe 10-15 pounds of good weight to get him in that 310-320 range, and improving flexibility/agility).

However, Manu has commented that he thinks he may be able to contribute early. He specifically cited “seeing the field early” as something CU can offer. It’s conceivable that in 2026 or 2027, there could be a need for a developed tackle/guard to step in as a backup. If Manu develops quickly, he could be in the two-deep by his second year on campus (2027). Perhaps he’s a swing tackle or a backup guard as a redshirt freshman. By 2028, he’d be a redshirt junior. and that’s the point you’d hope a prospect like this is ready to challenge for a starting job. In an ideal scenario, Manu could be a multi-year starter.

There’s also a scenario where Colorado continues to recruit over him (Deion Sanders isn’t going to stop pursuing elite linemen, and the portal is always there). Manu will have to scrap and claw to earn his place. Remember, however, this is a kid with a nasty disposition on the field and a competititve streak that could make him hard to keep off the field. Ultimately, the encouraging thing is that his physical tools (size/strength) are already near-college ready, so the remaining development is largely technique and experience.

If you want to dig more into BuffsBlog’s blogosphere, check out this post with season predictions and stat projections:

CU and Big 12 Season Predictions, Projections and Provocations