The Washington Huskies football team will have a lot of talented players returning to the team from last year's 9-4 campaign, and few will have a bigger chip on their soldier with something to prove than senior linebacker Jacob Manu.

The 2023 first-team All-Pac-12 selection transfered Washington ahead of last year, following former Arizona Wildcats and current Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch and several other coaches and players in making the move.

Manu came to the Huskies with a hefty amount of expectations and was expected to lead a linebacker room that was (and still is) one of the deepest on the team.

Instead, injuries stopped a promising season from truly getting off the ground.

Manu missed the first three games of the season while recovering from an injury he suffered with Arizona the previous season.

After his return, he was in-and-out of the rotation due to lingering injuries and finished the year having played in five of the team's 13 games, including Washington's 38-10 win against the Boise State Broncos in the Los Angeles Bowl.

Manu ended the season on a good note against the Broncos and recorded six tackles in the L.A. Bowl.

The former Wildcat finished his first year in the Pacific Northwest with 24 total tackles (13 solo), including one tackle for loss and had a pass defended.

Despite him coming an injury-plagued season, there's still a healthy amount of expectations for the senior linebacker.

Athlon Sports is a publication with decent hopes for Manu and he was named to the second-team preseason All-Big Ten team as a result.

Having Manu back in the fold gives UW a decent amount of depth at the position, which includes 2025 L.A. Bowl Defensive MVP Xe'ree Alexander, Taariq Al-Uqdah and Class of 2025 recruit Zaydrius Rainey-Sale.

Rainey-Sale, who was the top-ranked player in Washington in the Class of 2025, is coming off his own season in which he missed the first five games due to an injury he suffered in high school.

On top of his on-field performance, Manu proved something as a mentor for Rainey-Sale while both were recovering from their respective injuries.

"Just having Jacob there with me, he's always teaching me the ropes and giving me motivation and inspiration to get back and play with the team," Rainey-Sale said after a spring practice April 28.

Manu and the rest of the Huskies will begin the season in an Apple Cup showdown against the Washington State Cougars at 1 p.m. PT on Sept. 6 at Husky Stadium in Seattle.

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