Manalo chasing CFL dreams
Linebacker Myles Manalo, who led the Mustangs in tackles pre-pandemic, is preparing for his first pro season with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Chosen with the very last pick of this spring’s CFL Draft (by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats), Myles Manalo is looking to prove himself after a successful OUA career with the Western Mustangs. (Photo contributed by Myles Manalo).
Most of his earliest memories include traveling to and from the football field to watch his older brothers play. It didn’t take him long to join. Myles Manalo, the youngest of five boys, began his own career at the ripe age of 4.
“I was bred into football,” says Manalo, a fourth-year Western Mustang linebacker who was drafted into the CFL by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats this spring.
He was underage and underweight when he began playing, but a lot has changed during a long football journey that Manalo says, in some ways, has felt like no time at all.
By the age of 9, he had already demonstrated himself to be a versatile athlete. From lineman to running back, fullback to quarterback, the Burlington, ON native was all over the field before carving out his niche as linebacker for the minor football league’s Stampeders.
That versatility was his greatest strength, Manalo says, along with his “loose hips.” By 19, the now 6-foot-2, 230-pound linebacker was leading the Western Mustangs in tackles (in 2019) in OUA football action – and rising up the ranks in CFL draft circles. An invitation to the Regional Combine produced scores impressive enough to earn him a spot at the National Combine (he was the lone Mustang to receive an invite).
As with most things, the COVID-19 pandemic made for a difficult Combine – with everything being completed virtually.
“The Combine itself sucked,” Manalo said matter-of-factly, reflecting on the limitations that athletes faced in proving their worth.
He couldn’t help but worry about how online interviews and videotaped workouts might affect his success in the draft – as opposed to how things might turn out meeting coaches in Toronto and speaking face-to-face with scouts instead. Players struggled to demonstrate their progression through Zoom meetings. Further, this year’s draft was reduced from seven rounds to six (from 74 picks down to 54).
Luckily for Manalo, his talent spoke for itself. The now 21-year-old was, in fact, selected in the CFL draft this spring – although it didn’t come easy.
Manalo sat flanked by his parents on draft night with his nerves in a knot and his finger repeatedly hitting refresh on the draft livestream. With a singular pick remaining, and his future hanging in the air, Manalo resigned himself to returning to Western for a fifth year to finish his degree before hopefully signing as a free agent.
“All of that changed in three minutes,” the linebacker says.
“It’s funny. Some guys don’t see [being] the last player drafted as a good thing – but it gives me an edge,” Manalo said. “I’m excited to get out there and show that I’m not ‘Mr. Irrelevant’ … that I am not to be ignored, and that I am going to be very valuable to the team.”
Achieving the dream of being drafted into the CFL has Manalo reflecting on his career at Western. The 21-year-old views his time with the Mustangs – including the high-level coaching staff and the support of his teammates – as serving as the foundation for his future success.
But he nearly wasn’t a Mustang at all.
In 2017, Manalo prematurely accepted a recruitment offer from the McMaster Marauders. It was only after speaking with a teammate from Team Canada that Manalo decided to open his recruitment process once more. That included taking a long hard look at Western – and, ultimately, choosing the purple and white.
It was “one of the best decisions” he’s ever made, he says – despite some trying times dealing with injuries along the way.
“One big thing about Western that I’ll never forget – coming in, the recruitment coach told me, ‘I know you don’t want to hear this, but the best place for an athlete to get injured is Western.’ At that point, I didn’t understand what he meant.”
He learned during the 2017 Vanier Cup. After tearing his ACL, Manalo was on the operating table four days later. He had become yet another unlucky Mustang in recent years to go down with a significant injury.
Despite injuries, a virtual Combine, and having to wait the entirety of the draft to hear his name, Manalo is now a CFLer. (Photo: Brandon VandeCaveye).
With the help of extensive physiotherapy, Manalo not only returned from an injury that some athletes never recover from, but he returned stronger. He thanks the institution and the Mustangs program for that. The 21-year-old has one year remaining in his History degree before he can graduate from Western.
“The opportunity to get paid to play football is one that I can’t pass on,” said Manalo, who hopes to become a teacher and coach down the road. He’s looking into summer courses and is studying during the off-season to ensure that his education remains on-track while he pursues his professional football dreams.
The hard truth about football is that injury is always a possibility, and nothing lasts forever. That’s a reality Manalo says he embraces. And right now, he’s choosing to live out a dream he’s had since his early days playing minor football.
That dream gets underway soon. The 2021 CFL season, a condensed affair due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, kicks off August 5. With 14 regular season games spread over 16 weeks, Manalo is going to be busy.
Thankfully, he’s received tremendous support from his family – and from teammates new and old. For that, he’s “eternally grateful,” and he’s looking forward to the challenge of a professional football season – and to making a name for himself on a whole new level.
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