Acc football road trip: manuel, cornette talk personnel/connections to virginia tech

Carter Hill

Football Beat Writer

August 23, 2021

BLACKSBURG — EJ Manuel grew up in suburban Virginia Beach during the height of the hype that surrounded Virginia Tech football.

It was a time where the Hokies were consistently racking up Top-10 finishes in the AP Top 25 poll. A time where former head coach Frank Beamer cruised through the mid-2000’s with the infamous bowl streak. A time where Tech cleaned up on the recruiting trail in the Hampton Roads region in Coastal Virginia. Manuel, though, was not a part of that.

Instead, the Bayside High School product chose another ACC power over the Hokies. The lucky customers? The Florida State Seminoles, who secured Manuel’s services over other schools such as Alabama, LSU, and typical Commonwealth-picking Penn State — a school that has also recruited well in the 757.

After a successful four seasons under both the late great Bobby Bowden, and now-Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher, Manuel became a prized prospect for the 2013 NFL Draft. The Buffalo Bills gave him a chance, selecting the former ACC Champion with the No. 16 overall pick in that year's draft.

Following a teeter-tottering six NFL seasons, in which he spent four with the Bills, Manuel never quite lived up to the hype, and was out of football by 2019. Fortunately for him, the combination of his knowledge and experience of what takes place down on the gridiron landed him a new gig that would keep him connected to the game he loved.

Once the ACC Network launched in August of that same year, it may have been Manuel’s blessing in disguise, as he signed on with ESPN to become a football analyst with the newborn network.

Two years later, the 31-year old has become a fixture in the ACCN’s starting lineup. He has found a home alongside former Miami head coach Mark Richt, and former Clemson offensive lineman and national champion Eric Mac Lain as color analysts on the network’s primetime football show, “The Huddle”.

With excitement like no other building up for the 2021 college football season, and with fans returning to the stands all over the country, the momentum has built across a multitude of ACC schools. Add it with the common craving for a peek behind the scenes, the ACC Network decided to do something different before this season kicks off.

The ESPN affiliate embarked on its first “ACC Football Road Trip,” a series that would feature an inside look at all 14 schools league-wide to preview their upcoming season. And when it was time to hit stop No. 11 in Blacksburg, it was Virginia Tech’s turn at a chance in the spotlight. Manuel and former Notre Dame basketball player and studio host Jordan Cornette were the two to show off the Hokies to the rest of the ACC.

“I see a team that for sure has a chance to win the Coastal,” commented Manuel, who won two Atlantic division titles at Florida State. The Seminoles capitalized on one of those with an ACC Championship Manuel’s senior season in 2012, the other resulted in a title game loss to the Hokies in 2010.

The former quarterback says he sees a lot of “similarities” between himself and quarterback Braxton Burmeister, who’s set to take the reins behind center for the Hokies when North Carolina rolls into Lane Stadium on Sept. 3.

“When I watch Braxton, he’s not as tall as me and things like that,” Manuel said. “But as far as body quickness, and understanding when to take off and make a play with your legs...the game is trending more towards a quarterback like Braxton. When I played, it was still more pro style offenses, I formation, stuff like that. I would say we’re very similar, just the sizes are different.”

“There’s going to be continuity and decisiveness there at that quarterback position,” Cornette added on Burmeister not having to “look over his shoulder” at a potential challenger for his starting position.

“As a former athlete myself I know what that can mean to your performance, your ability to perform just knowing that nobody is challenging you from behind,” he continued. The Hokies currently will suit up with Knox Kadum and Texas A&M transfer Connor Blumrick as viable options to replace Burmeister in case of injury. But the starting job is his.

“I’m interested to see how Braxton’s going to shine in that regard,” Cornette said.

Manuel was able to have a conversation with Burmeister inside the Beamer-Lawson Indoor Practice Facility when filming for the 7 p.m. showing took place earlier that morning.

“I was glad to get a chance to meet him,” Cornette continued. “I got to shake his hand, see his size. He’s strong, he’s a strong dude, obviously he’s extremely explosive.”

“I’m excited for him. He’s going to be able to be himself knowing he’s the full time starter,” Manuel said in agreement with Cornette. “He’s the key to me for this team; him being able to stay healthy. A lot of the weight is going to be on his shoulders, but I think he can handle it.”

The Virginia Beach native added that weapons like James Mitchell, Tre Turner, and Tayvion Robinson around Burmeister will “absolutely” help the redshirt junior quarterback.

“You look at the weapons he has surrounding him...it should give him more confidence,” he said. “All those guys have played a lot of football. Even the running backs, you have four guys that can by committee go out there and get yards for the team — so if I was Braxton I’d be feeling pretty good at this point. And that’s without even mentioning the offensive line.”

Manuel then went on to say he could “drive his truck” through some of the holes returning starters like Brock Hoffman and Lecitus Smith left open for now Chicago Bears’ running back Khalil Herbert during his magical 2020 campaign.

Cornette then touched on the defensive side of the ball. Particularly, the defensive line.

“I think Amare Barno is a guy who is really going to step onto the national scene,” Cornette said. “He’s a guy who did a lot last year and there’s some preseason expectations with him...I always like to see how guys respond to that.”

Once an opposition to an imposing Hokie front, Manuel added that “one thing about Virginia Tech football is that they’re going to be hard-nosed. They’re going to be tough. The defense is going to get after you as a quarterback.”

And that’s exactly what the pair expects out of Barno as well as other players such as Clemson transfer Jordan Williams on Bill Teerlinck and JC Price’s defensive line.

As far as the program itself, Manuel is no stranger to Virginia Tech football considering he grew up in a VT recruiting hotspot. In fact, his father, Erik, even grew up across the street in Norfolk from Bruce Smith, a Virginia Tech great and former No. 1 overall pick of the Buffalo Bills.

He’s been to Blacksburg on numerous occasions, including when he defeated the Hokies on a chilly Thursday night in Lane Stadium when he came as a visiting player back during the 2012 season.

For a kid that didn't even play football for the Hokies, pride beamed off his face when talking about his connections to Virginia Tech and all that goes with it.

“I have a great respect for Virginia Tech football, the brand that’s here,” Manuel said. “I know the tradition. You look at guys like Kam Chancellor (Maury), Tyrod Taylor (Hampton), D’Angelo Hall (Deep Creek), these guys were excellent players that I grew up watching. “

“To go into the indoor facility and see friends of mine hanging up on the banner, I’m proud of that,” Manuel continued. “I would say I have a lot of emotional ties and emotional pride to that as well.”

The brand of Virginia Tech football will be on full display on Labor Day weekend. A date with the Tar Heels will have all eyes set on Lane Stadium and the seismographic-accelerator that is Lane Stadium. Including Manuel’s and Cornette’s.

“I think it’s low-key one of the most important games in the conference coming into the season,” Cornette explained. “(There’s) incredibly high expectations with UNC, but this is a Virginia Tech proud program that didn’t have the year they wanted last year, so it’s a real opportunity for them.

“This is a chance for them to show that they belong. And to do it in one of the more raucous environments in all of college athletics, you have to be incredibly excited about the opportunities that’s presented in front of them. We’re going to be very much locked in.”

Manuel agreed.

“Virginia Tech’s extremely hungry, they got a chip on their shoulder.”

We’ll see how big that chip is come Sept. 3 when the Tar Heels and Hokies battle it out in front of 66,000 plus on the gridiron inside Lane Stadium.