The answer man

For some time now, he’s been The Answer Man. Rex Manu gets to the classroom after school while other kids are gallivanting their way off campus to Jamba Juice or Burger King. He sits in Rod York’s classroom, waiting. Waiting. Soon enough, his Mililani teammates show up, books and backpacks in hand.

Manu is a 6-foot-2, 290-pound defensive tackle, offensive lineman, playmaker, standout force of nature on the gridiron. But after school — before practice — he’s Rex, the tutor. He’s a senior with a 3.5 grade-point average — he notched a 3.8 in the first quarter — who hits the books hard for everything from trigonometry to English.

"He’s a guy you can trust when no one’s looking," Mililani coach Rod York said. "The kid is unbelievably smart. I tell people the kid is smarter than me. We challenge in a game of "Jeopardy!" and it’s not even close.

"He cares about making a difference in other people’s lives. He will sacrifice his personal gain for another person’s gain."

The football numbers are scintillating: 32 solo tackles, 63 assists, 21 hurries, 11 sacks, three fumble recoveries and six forced fumbles. The sheer energy and power of his play on the field plus the sharp intellect and academic prowess have made Manu one of the state’s most coveted prospects.

For now, though, 12 games into the 2014 football season, Manu and his teammates are gearing up for the ultimate prize: The unbeaten Trojans face No. 1 Punahou on Friday in the final of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Division I State Championship at Aloha Stadium.

"Rex Manu is definitely an impact player," Farrington coach Randall Okimoto said. "He makes plays series after series. Sacks, tackles, pressures, and tackles for loss. He also plays on the offensive line in their ‘heavy run package’ and makes an impact on the field when he’s in that capacity. He’s a big part of their success on defense just like Breiden Fehoko is for our defense."

York says Manu has the talent of two great players combined in one.

"On our (short-yardage) package, he’s our right guard. Rex is actually a better O-lineman than D-lineman, in my opinion," said York, who played defensive line at the University of Hawaii. "He didn’t want to play O-line. He knows he means a lot to our defense. The most important guy is the big nose guard who commands a lot of double-teams. He’s one of the reasons we lost All-State players and yet our (defensive) numbers haven’t changed, and they’ve improved in terms of forcing turnovers."

There’s much to absorb this week, from video study to fine-tuning the mechanical aspects of offense, defense and special teams. For Manu, passion for the game is not all-consuming, 24 hours a day. He’s got plenty on his mind, and the wits to speak on those other passions and issues.

Dad and Reggie

"My favorite athlete, aw man, that’s hard. I guess I’d have to say my dad," Manu said.

Tika Manu played defensive end and outside linebacker at Ricks College (Utah), where he met Dee, the future Mrs. Manu. She was a volleyball player.

"He transferred to Utah. He got (signed by) the (Miami) Dolphins and then he got injured and that was the end of it," Manu said. "I’ve seen a couple of stories about him from the Utah newspaper."

Hall of Fame defensive end Reggie White is his other favorite athlete.

"Right after (Dad), I’d say Reggie White. The fact that he lined up pretty much perpendicular to the line, that was so different, but it worked so well," Manu said of the former Eagles, Packers and Panthers defensive lineman.

College offers

Manu was orally committed to Stanford before the season, but de-committed after a visit to Oregon. He’ll visit Colorado and Washington in early December, and there is a pile of other offers on the table, including one from Hawaii.

"I told UH I’d keep them in mind," Manu said. "But when it comes down to it, I’m not looking to stay here."

AP classes

Manu took AP (advanced placement) world history and calculus last year, getting an A and a B.

"I think it’s more painful than it’s worth. Just get me out of there," he said of the rewarding, stressful process. "A lot of kids want to come here for the education. It just so happened that I love football, too."

Transferring

Three years ago, Manu was enrolled at Punahou, which seemed like a perfect fit for a scholar-athlete. He transferred to Mililani and considers it a great decision.

"It’s really unfortunate. You may think a school may be all you want it to be, but you might find out, this is not me," he said. "It might go against all you want to believe."

It wasn’t sports at Punahou that turned Manu off.

"I went through most of the season with them. Ronley (Lakalaka) and those guys were freshmen, too," he said, noting that freshman don’t play varsity football in the ILH. "The straw that broke the camel’s back was the kids outside of football who are high makamaka. I didn’t think that was true until I saw it myself. Moving my backpack off the table. Walking away like they won the championship. I was mad, but I realized it’s not even worth it."

Oh, and about football…

The Trojans will be prepared. Manu promises that.

"I think the standard for us and Punahou is to be ready, come out 100 percent ready," he said. "You can’t hold anything back."

THE TOP 10

Voted on by coaches and media from around the state. First-place votes in parentheses. Ten points for first-place votes, nine for second, eight for third, etc.

FOOTBALL

Also receiving votes: ‘Iolani 22, Maui 10, Kapaa 5, Pearl City 2, Kaiser 2.