Terrell Manning, the 6-foot-3, 205-pound Scout.com four-star linebacker from Scotland High School in Laurinburg (N.C.) finished his junior season with 130 tackles, three interceptions and three fumbles caused.
"I'm a lot quicker than my 40 time (reports a 4.6)," Manning said. "I'm a side-to-side runner and try to be aggressive most of the time. I'm also really physical.
"I still want to improve my tackling technique and bulk up," he said. "I think by gaining weight I'd be able to be a bigger presence on the field."
He says he can bench 300 pounds, squat 440 and has a 33-inch vertical jump.
Manning, ranked No. 57 nationally by Scout.com, has approximately 13 scholarship offers but denies a favorite. He likes North Carolina, South Carolina, North Carolina State and Clemson. "I don't really have a top five," Manning said. "I haven't seen enough schools yet. These four are the main ones I've already been to."
His first scholarship offer came from North Carolina, which is also the school that Manning grew up following. "We have a lot of people from my high school that go there," he said. "They are recruiting me really hard and I think that coach Butch Davis is really serious about making them a national championship contender. I wouldn't be surprised if they have a great season. He's just recruiting really well right now."
The Tar Heels are only one and half-hours from his house. In-state rival, North Carolina State, is just an hour from Manning's home. "I don't care if I'm close or not," Manning said.
Manning also attended the spring game at South Carolina. "I love the atmosphere there," Manning said. "They are crazy about football and I love that. It was an amazing experience.
"Basically I want to be able to see myself living there and choose a place I would go to even if I weren't playing football," Manning said. "I definitely want to commit before the season, so I plan to take a lot of unofficial visits this summer. I really want to visit Tennessee, Florida, Florida State, Maryland, Alabama and Georgia. I plan to be busy.
"Those are all big-time programs," Manning said. "Florida just won a national championship and Florida State has a great history of winning too. They all send guys to the NFL and it's impressive just to be playing on the team because you know you're competing against the best.
"I think that Alabama will be back at that level soon," Manning said. "Now with coach Nick Saban, they'll get back up there. I can see them competing for a national championship soon."
He reports a 2.6 core GPA and an 840 SAT. Manning says he's fully qualified and doesn't plan on taking the SAT again.