Even before he was born, Hawaii defensive lineman Manly Williams would be known as “Pumba,” a phonetic nickname his older brother chose from “The Lion King.”
Growing up, Williams said, “the only people who called me Manly were my mom, my grandpa and my teachers.”
After collaborating with safety Kalen Hicks on a game-ending tackle to preserve the Rainbow Warriors’ 45-38 victory over Arizona on Saturday, Williams became a household name.
Several teams — including Clemson, Georgia, the San Francisco 49ers and the Buffalo Bills — used the video clip of Williams charging more than 30 yards downfield as an example of play-to-the-whistle hustle. After Tuesday’s practice, Williams did telephone interviews with The Athletic and the New York Times. Pat Forde of Yahoo! Sports declared that for the next week, college football’s top honor should be renamed the HeisManly Trophy.
Williams has emphatically credited his teammates for contributing to the play. He also said he did what he was coached to do. “Run to the ball,” Williams said. “I wasn’t really looking for any attention after the game. I just did what anybody else would do.”
With the clock ticking down, the Warriors were rotating defensive linemen as part of the “rushmen package.” In that sub-package, Williams was “in that second group after a kind of line change for us, like in hockey,” defensive coordinator Corey Batoon said. “They subbed and then we subbed.”
With 10 seconds remaining, Williams was one of two defensive ends to shift to defensive tackle, while the rush ends played the edges. Williams was instructed to loop into the backfield to seal quarterback Khalil Tate. “I was supposed to loop out, but I came too far infield, and (Tate) escaped inside,” Williams said. “And when I turned, I was, ‘Oh, this is the last play. I’d better start running.’ I started running after the ball. It was a team effort.”
Hicks grasped Tate at the 1, and Williams finished off the tackle.
Williams said he made a similar play five years earlier as a Farrington High safety. “I was 100 pounds lighter,” said Williams, who now weighs 275.
After Saturday’s nationally televised game had ended, Williams said, friends were “sending me all these messages that ‘You’re blowing up on Twitter,’ I don’t even have a Twitter account. I don’t even care. I have Instagram. I’d look at (the congratulatory messages), and tell everybody, ‘Thank you.’ ”
The following day, he went to breakfast with teammates Alema Kapoi and Azia Se‘ei. “I had a bacon-cheese-spinach omelet with rice,” Williams said.
Despite his recently bleached hair and internet notoriety, he went unnoticed.
“That’s good,” said Williams, who tries to avoid the spotlight. “I don’t like it too much. It’s not me. I’m a mellow guy. I keep to myself.”
The past May, Williams earned a bachelor’s degree in business management. “I like being interactive,” said Williams, who is pursuing a second degree in kinesiology. “Business management is just like football — how to lead, how to be an example, how to help a team or group to a common goal.”
