E.J. Manuel, QB, Florida State Seminoles: 2013 NFL Draft Player Profile

Nov 24, 2012; Tallahassee, FL, USA; Florida State Seminoles quarterback Ej Manuel (3) looks to throw the ball during the second half of the game against the Florida Gators at Doak Campbell Stadium. Gators defeated the Seminoles 37-26. Mandatory Credit: Melina Vastola-US PRESSWIRE

Height:   6’5″

Weight:  237 pounds

Position Rank: 4th

Drafted By: Buffalo Bills (1st round, 16th overall)

40 Yard Dash:  4.65

Bench Press:  N/A

Vertical Jump:  N/A

Broad Jump:  N/A

Career Highlights (via FSU athletics site)

All-ACC (Second Team)
Coaches All-ACC (Second Team)
Phil Steele Postseason All-ACC (Second Team)
Unitas Golden Arm Award Finalist
Maxwell Award Semifinalist
Davey O’Brien Award Semifinalist
Under Armour Senior Bowl Selection

2012: Senior quarterback who finished his career ranking as one of the most productive at his position in Florida State history…led the Seminoles to a 25-6 record as a starter – the third-most wins in program history – and became just the second quarterback in FBS history to win four straight bowl games, joining former West Virginia QB Pat White…also went 16-3 in his career against ACC opponents…FSU’s all-time leader in completion percentage (66.9), which ties for second in ACC history…ranks among top five Seminole quarterbacks all-time for passing yards (7,736, 3rd), total offense (8,563, 3rd), completions (600, 4th) and attempts (897, 5th), despite only two seasons as the full-time starter…also tied for seventh all-time with 47 career TD passes and tied for ninth all-time with five 300-yard passing games…enjoyed his most productive season in 2012, completing 263-of-387 attempts for 3,392 yards and 23 touchdowns with only 10 interceptions… served as an integral part of the 2012 FSU offense which will go down in FSU history as the most productive ever racking up a school record 6,591 yards which surpassed the 2000 team for the most yards…capped off his career leading FSU to 534 yards of total offense which was the sixth game of over 500 yards of total offense in 2012…ranked second in the ACC and 14th nationally in passing efficiency (156.0) in 2012 and his career total of 150.4 ranks second all-time in the ACC…became the first Seminole quarterback since Charlie Ward to pass for 300 yards and rush for 100 with 380 and 102, respectively, in FSU’s 49-37 win over No. 10 Clemson which earned him his first of two ACC Player of the Week honors…calmly led the Seminoles back from a 14-point third quarter deficit against the Tigers, highlighted by his 29-yard strike to Rodney Smith that gave the `Noles their first lead at 35-31 late in third quarter…threw for a career-high 439 yards and four TD’s in a 27-of-34 performance against Boston College as he earned ACC Player of the Week honors for the second time…came up huge with his first game-winning TD pass on FSU’s final drive against Virginia Tech when he hit Rashad Greene on a slant for a 39-yard scoring play with 40 second remaining in a 28-22 victory…eclipsed 200 passing yards eight times this season to go along with seven multiple TD pass games…contributed 310 rushing yards and four TD’s to the Seminoles’ running game, which ranked second in the ACC averaging 205.9 yards per game…named one of four team captains and the most valuable player on offense for the second straight year at the team’s annual banquet.

2011: Led FSU to nine wins in his first full-year as a starter to move to 13-4 all-time as the Seminoles’ starting quarterback…became the most accurate QB in FSU history as far as career completion percentage (66.1) after completing 203-of-311 passes (65.3 percent) in 2011…also threw for 2,666 yards and 18 touchdowns with just eight interceptions…ranked 18th nationally and second in the ACC in pass efficiency (151.24) to move his career efficiency to 146.10 – the third-best in ACC history behind only former Seminole Chris Weinke (151.15) and former Georgia Tech star Joe Hamilton (148.19)…ranked fourth in the ACC in total offense (234.8)…threw multiple TD passes in six games…eclipsed 250 yards passing in five games and had three straight games (Duke, Maryland and NC State) where he passed for 200+ yards in the first half alone…ended the season throwing 121 passes without an interception which covered the final five games as FSU went 4-1 during the stretch…finished second on the team with four rushing TDs with all four coming in the last seven games…posted career-bests in yards (329), attempts (35) and touchdowns (four) in the second game of the year versus Charleston Southern…injured his left shoulder during the Oklahoma game and sat out the loss to Clemson and the start of the Wake Forest game as well…returned with 1:48 remaining in the first half at Wake Forest, promptly leading FSU to a score…passed for 286 yards and two scores at Wake Forest in an FSU loss…completed 9-of-14 passes for 239 yards against the Duke, compiling three completions of at least 50 yards…threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more in the win against the Blue Devils…notched his second career 300-yard game came against NC State (321 yards), as he set a career-best mark for completions with 25…helped rally the Seminoles to an 18-14 win over Notre Dame in the Champs Sports Bowl completing 20-of-31 passes for 249 yards and two touchdowns…selected as the winner of the Bob Crenshaw Award, one of two recipients of the leadership award for offense, most valuable player on offense and one of the team’s permanent captains at the team’s annual banquet.

2010: Built on his stint as a four-game starter in 2009, making 10 appearances with starts against Clemson and Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship game…came on in relief in the second quarter of the Chick-fil-A Bowl and helped guide the `Noles to a 26-17 win over South Carolina, which included a 7-yard TD pass to Taiwan Easterling with just over five minutes to play to cap off a 13-play, 63-yard drive which proved to be the game-clinching moment…led FSU a 4-2 record as the starter, including what amounted to an elimination game victory over Clemson while filling in for senior Christian Ponder…led the Seminoles in completion percentage (69.9) and passing efficiency (153.25)…ran for a career-high 71 yards and a touchdown against Clemson in a 16-13 win, eclipsing his previous high of 70 yards in his 2009 Gator Bowl MVP performance against West Virginia…also passed for 210 yards in the win over the Tigers, helping him earn ACC Offensive Back of the Week honors…passed for a career-high 288 yards (23-31) in the ACC Championship game loss to Virginia Tech… helped run the final 7:35 off the clock against Florida, rushing for 27 yards in the 31-7 Seminole win…passed for 861 yards and four TDs and added 170 rushing yards and one TD…named to the All-ACC Academic football team.

2009: Thrust into the starting role when Christian Ponder suffered a season-ending injury late in the Clemson game…posted a 3-1 record as the starter, capped by his MVP performance in FSU’s Gator Bowl victory over West Virginia…rallied the Seminoles from a 14-3 deficit against the Mountaineers by completing 17-of-24 pass attempts for 189 yards and rushed for 70 yards on 14 carries…Manuel’s 2-yard TD run with under nine minutes to play gave the `Noles a 30-21 lead…completed 75 percent of his passes (15-of-20) in his first career start – a win at Wake Forest – earning ACC Rookie of the Week honors for his effort…led the Seminoles to points on the first five scoring drives in his first career start…guided the `Noles to a bowl-clinching 29-26 win over Maryland by overcoming three interceptions…Manuel directed his first career fourth quarter rally, scrambling for 35 yards on the first two plays to set up Lonnie Pryor’s game-winning TD run with 1:14 to play…appeared in seven games, including four starts…his 196 rushing yards ranked third on the team…completed just over 65 percent of his pass attempts for 817 yards…selected to the ACC All-Academic football team…missed the 2009 spring season with a broken index finger suffered on the first day of practice.

2008: Redshirt season…earned scout team MVP honors for the offense.

Career Stats

Scouting Report/Player Notes

Prior to last season, it was expected that E.J. Manuel was going to be one of the best quarterbacks in all of college football. He wasn’t a slouch but he and the ‘Noles didn’t exactly drop any jaws. He threw for 2,666 yards and only 18 touchdowns with eight interceptions, and he had two games last year against Oklahoma and Florida where he didn’t even hit 100 yards passing. That is unacceptable for a guy who is being talked about as a first round prospect, but the talent is certainly there for the FSU signal caller. On the hoof, he has ideal size and overall athletic ability. He has a strong arm and a quick release, and he has shown improvement in his decision making. Sometimes will lock into his primary read and really decrease his overall time in the pocket because he’s not going through enough progressions. The talent and potential are certainly there, but he was a rookie last year and it showed. He has a tremendous ceiling but he needs to emerge as an elite player in 2012 or he is going to be a mid-round pick. He has good footwork and steps into his throws really well. He is slowly but surely adapting to the mental part of football, and when he figures that out, he is going to be really hard to stop.