UW Roster Review: In Spring, Huskies Unveiled E-Man

The mark of a great player is the guy who can come in and acquire or replenish a nickname before he spends barely a week with his new football team.

Such is the case for the University of Washington cornerback called Emmanuel "Manny" Karnley, who for the most part answers to none of those titles while running around Montlake.

Meet E-Man.

This would describe the 6-foot, 180-pound junior from Antioch, California, who transferred in after spending a season at Virginia and two years at Arizona.

He is the 11th and quite possibly the final player from Jedd Fisch's 2023 Wildcats team to follow the coach from Tucson to the UW.

There's a also good bet that he will be the only one of the 14 most recent transfer portal acquisitions who will start at an every-down position when the UW opens next season in the Apple Cup against Washington State.

"Obviously the addition of E-man has been awesome," UW defensive coordinator Ryan Walters said. "He just confirmed everything we thought we had."

Manny Karnley (8) and Dylan Robinson are the Huskies' starting corners. | Dave Sizer photo

This is one in a series of articles -- going from 0 to 99 on the UW roster -- examining what each scholarship player and leading walk-on did in spring practice and what to expect from them going into fall camp.

Karnley could have joined the UW football team much earlier than he did. He actually was recruited by Kalen DeBoer's Husky staff before he committed to Fisch at Arizona on December 16, 2022.

While not as tall as Tacario Davis or Ephesians Prysock, with whom he teamed with at Arizona and who preceded him as starting UW corners before going in the latest NFL Draft, Karnley might turn out to be better than both of them.

Certainly, he appears to be much more of a physical corner than his former teammates.

"He's the type of kid who's going to scrap to the end," Walters said. "He doesn't mind about being uncomfortable."

Manny Karnley looks like he belongs at the UW after stops at Virginia and Arizona. | Dave Sizer photo

An unfortunate example of his ability to mix it up would be sophomore running back Jordan Washington, who tried to get in Karnley's way on an interception return and suffered a neck injury after taking what appeared to be a stiff arm.

Karnley can cover at a high level, which he demonstrated at the Seahawks' VMAC complex when he broke up three passes in a matter of 10 scrimmage plays during a UW spring practice that was moved there.

"I think E-Man is a stud," senior safety Alex McLaughlin said. "He's super sticky in coverage. Great technique. He's a great guy off the field, too."

Away from football, Karnley lives a little differently than most if not all of his UW teammates. He has a 5-year-old child.

"He's a dad and with all of those responsibilities that entails, you've got to be mature," Walters said. "I think that experience and that maturity will go a long way for us."

No word on whether the little Karnley gets to call dad E-Man.

What he's done: Karnley has been a lot of places over the past year and half. Transferring out of Arizona, he first joined Miami for spring practice, then transferred again to Virginia, which seemed to suit him better. He played two of his better games for the Cavaliers in wins over Florida State and Louisville, coming up with 5 tackles in each outing. For the season, he finished with 26 tackles, 8 pass break-ups and a Gator Bowl interception against Missouri.

Starter or not: Fisch redshirted Karnley when he had him as a freshman in 2022. After Fisch left for the UW, the corner started six of 10 games for new Arizona coach Bob Brennan. He opened 10 of 14 games for Virginia. The Huskies brought him in for one reason and only one reason: to be the starter opposite sophomore corner Dylan Robinson.

Add us as a preferred source on Google