‘Baby Shaq’ Has Predraft Visit With Packers
Offensive tackle Giovanni Manu, a native of Tonga who became a basketball star in Canada, will meet with the Packers before the 2024 NFL Draft.
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and played college football in Canada, is set to have a predraft visit with the Green Bay Packers, according to Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report.
The Packers attended his pro day on March 29, when he turned in a rather incredible workout. At an enormous 6-foot-7 and 352 pounds, he reportedly ran his 40 in 5.03 seconds. He added a 33.5-inch vertical leap and put up 23 reps on the 225-pounch bench press. He would have been the second-heaviest lineman at the Scouting Combine and would have tied for the 10th-fastest.
The visit signals the team’s further interest in one of the most unique prospects in the draft.
Manu was born in Tonga before moving to Canada at age 11 and growing up in Pitt Meadows, British Columbia.
“Hardest moment in my life I had to overcome was probably moving away from home to come live in Canada,” he told NFL Draft Diamonds in 2023. “Not only did I leave the island I grew up in and [was] so used to, but I also left my parents. I was really young when I left – I was 11 years old [and] had to adapt to only seeing my parents during Christmas.”
In eighth grade, Manu was 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds. By 10th grade, he was 6-foot-8 and 300 pounds.
“Coming into Grade 8, I was already a big kid, and I was always seen as someone who had no agility or movement,” Manu told Varsity Letters. “I had to prove them all wrong. Mr. Goulet (former longtime Pitt Meadows basketball coach Rich Goulet) built such a great program here and he saw it in me, so I had to make the roster. It all took off from there.”
He grew up playing basketball – he earned the nickname “Baby Shaq” in high school, when he averaged 30 points and 12 rebounds per game – before focusing on football at the University of British Columbia. He was an all-Canada selection each of the final two years, with his playing time split at left guard and left guard in 2022 and entirely at left tackle in 2023.
“It’s a dream come true. It’s a blessing,” he told TSN after pro day. “Being an O-lineman and football, I can always get better [with my technique]. I don’t ever feel like I’m a perfect person. I’m the type of person who always wants to be on the field and getting better. Some things, such as pad level, being 6-8, it’s always going to come up. Height, pad level – I can get better at that.”
In January, he was deemed a top-10 prospect for the CFL Draft.
No Canadian players have been drafted since David Onyemata was picked in the fourth round by the Saints in 2016. With the buzz, it’s possible Manu will break that drought.
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