Huskies Twice Tested Karnley Deep and He Didn't Flinch

This past Saturday, it was time to put Emmanuel "Manny" Karnley under the microscope in Montlake,

The University of Washington football team decided the moment had come to see what the new cornerback could do.

Twice junior quarterback Demond Williams Jr. let one fly in the general direction of junior wide receiver Rashid Williams running a deep post pattern.

The 6-foot, 188-pound Karnley, also a junior, swatted down the first pass with little trouble, reading it all the way.

Near the end of practice, the Virginia transfer by way of Arizona saw the Husky offense go after him once more.

Same deep pass. Same receiver. Slightly different outcome.

This time, Karnley intercepted an overthrown ball, settling under it at his 12-yard line.

No Williams-to-Williams connection over his head.

Manny Karnley had an interception during Saturday's UW practice. | Dave Sizer photo

"What E-Man brings is a ton of experience," Husky defensive coordinator Ryan Walters said early in the week. "He's a guy who started for a team that won 11 games and he had a heckuva year."

The only downside was sophomore running back Jordan Washington tried to get in Karnley's way on the interception return at midfield, was shaken up in the process and transported by an aid car out of Husky Stadium for precautionary reasons. It was a freak mishap.

The best thing about bringing Karnley to the UW was Jedd Fisch's coaches didn't have to dig real deep into his past references -- because in some instances, they would have been talking to themselves.

Originally from Antioch, California, Karnley appeared in one game and redshirted for Fisch's Arizona staff in 2023 and returned the next season with a Brent Brennan-coached Wildcats team and started six of 10 games played.

While his fellow Arizona cornerbacks Tacario Davis and Ephesians Prysock reunited at the UW and started together last season, Karnely transferred to Virginia and flourished after taking a spring ball detour to Miami.

For the Cavaliers, he played in all 14 games for a bowl-bound team and started 10 times, finishing with 26 tackles, 8 pass break-ups and an interception.

While he has two seasons of football eligibility remaining, Karnley is older than he seems. He's a father with a 5-year-old child and he brought his family with him to Seattle.

Meantime, he's pegged to open at one corner spot opposite sophomore Dylan Robinson, a five-game returning starter, in the Husky secondary, with the two of them replacing the NFL-bound Davis and Prysock.

"That [dad] maturity for a young crew will go a long way for us," Walters said of Karnley's presence.