Enrolling early lets USC freshman do what every lineman wants to do: Eat

Enrolling early with South Carolina allowed Hank Manos to more quickly realize his dream of being part of a college football program.

But it also allowed for him to more fully indulge in one of life’s more simple pleasures: Eating.

Manos was a state champion wrestler for Chapin High School. In many ways, it’s beneficial for his future as a college offensive lineman, but it also capped his weight.

But not anymore, and it turns out getting to eat again isn’t exactly easy.

“It’s a lot of work,” Manos said. “Just getting every food morsel you can in, trying to focus on the macros, proteins, carbs, sugars. Trying to get everything in, focus on eating the right things, also focusing on keeping a balanced diet, trying not to gain, lose weight in the wrong form.”

The Under Armour All-American said he committed to South Carolina at around 260 pounds, and has added 20 pounds since. The staff hasn’t told him what weight they want him at exactly, but they’d like him to fight for the vacant center spot, which likely means getting closer to the 300-pound mark.

“There’s no telling how big Hank’s going to get when he actually gets on campus,” Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp said on signing day.

Manos noted the focus on diet and how to take off weight could help him in his mission to add good weight going forward.

“Some of my friends, they’ll go on a crash diet and they’ll lose 15 pounds of body fat,” Manos said. “That just helps out, knowing the secrets, cutting out carbs, cutting out fats. It’s just great to know those things.”

He admitted there was something bittersweet about leaving the wrestling team. He said he’d done what he needed to on the mat, with a 40-0 state championship junior season. But his Eagles still have goals of the program’s first team state title since 1997 (they were runners-up last season), and his absence hinders that.

Manos wouldn’t go so far as saying he’s set a goal of a starting spot next season, just that his goal was to work hard and earn all he could. The Gamecocks staff has communicated to him they need someone to step up at the starting center spot Alan Knott is vacating, so he’s set that as an aim.

And early in his recruitment, he took note of how Knott did his business.

“I definitely did, especially when I went in, it would have been my first visit with an offer,” Manos said. “I saw him lift weights and I saw him kind of talk with the coaches and his demeanor at practice, every move he was making. I realized that the whole game changes when you go to college. That’s what I strive to be.”

This story was originally published February 5, 2018 at 9:34 AM with the headline "Enrolling early lets USC freshman do what every lineman wants to do: Eat."