On Thursday, Arizona saw a pair of its top defensive players in Genesis Smith and Dalton Johnson remove their names from the transfer portal. A day later, the same can’t be said for another one of Arizona’s key contributors, as linebacker Jacob Manu is transferring to Washington. On3’s Hayes Fawcett was the first to report the news.
Manu will reunite with former head coach Jedd Fisch in Seattle, a year after Fisch departed for the Huskies. He is the 11th Wildcat to transfer to Washington since Fisch’s departure, joining former Arizona teammates Jonah Coleman and Ephesians Prysock.
Prior to suffering a season-ending leg injury in October, Manu had 47 tackles, two PBU, and a fumble recovery in seven games for the Wildcats this year. In his three year career, Manu had 217 tackles, including 16.5 TFL, one interception, seven PBU, and a fumble recovery. He was also an All-Pac-12 First Team selection in 2023 after leading the league with 116 tackles as a sophomore.
The former three-star prospect was one of four Servite High School teammates to sign with Arizona in the 2022 recruiting class. After sharing the gridiron for three seasons, Jacob Manu is transferring to Washington, tight end Keyan Burnett is transferring to Kansas, and wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan is off to the NFL. Quarterback Noah Fifita is now the lone member of the Servite quarter returning to Arizona for the 2025 season.