Manuel Hendrix (born October 20, 1964) is a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

who played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

at the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

Early life

Hendrix attended South Mountain High School where he received

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

and All-state honors at cornerback in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

. He received All-state honors at

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

. He also practiced track. He accepted a scholarship from the

, which was the only school that recruited him to play

. He became a four-year starter and a two-time captain under the coaching of

Lynn Archibald Lynn J. Archibald (September 27, 1944 – May 28, 1997) was an American college basketball coach. He served as head basketball coach at Idaho State University and the University of Utah. Early life Born in Logan, Utah, Archibald moved to Oreg ...

, Hendrix helped the

Utes Utes may refer to: *Ute people, indigenous people of North America *Students of the University of Utah *Utah Utes The Utah Utes are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Uta ...

to the NCAA tournament in

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

where they eliminated

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

reaching the Sweet 16, and again in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

where they lost to

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

in the First round. During his senior year, he was named team MVP and second-team All-WAC. He hit game-winning shots in back-to-back games during the 1985 WAC tournament, specially the one against

Wyoming University The University of Wyoming (UW) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...

. He finished his career ranked eighth in scoring with 1,493 points and fifth in assists with 409 in school history. Hendrix possessed elite speed and put it on display during halftime of the intrasquad spring game in 1986, when tired of the taunts from football player Del Rodgers (a 1982 third-round draft pick), accepted his challenge to a 30-yard run and beat him barefoot. They would then run a 40-yard race where he won running the last 5 yards backwards. In 2005, he was inducted into the Crimson Club Hall of Fame. In 2006, he was inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Although he never played a down of

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

, he signed with the

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

, following on the foot steps of Cornell Green,

Peter Gent George Davis Peter Gent ( ; August 23, 1942 – September 30, 2011) was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. He became a novelist after his retirement, authoring the best-seller '' North Dallas Forty''. He ...

, Percy Howard, Ken Johnson and

Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American filmmaker and actor. Howard started his career as a child actor before transitioning to directing films. Over his six-decade career, Howard has received List of awards and nominations r ...

, as

players that were converted by the Cowboys to play professional

. On August 26, he was released and later re-signed on September 23. As a rookie he played on the

nickel defense American football, a nickel defense (also known as a 4–2–5 or 3–3–5) is any defensive alignment that uses five defensive backs, of whom the fifth is known as a nickelback. The original and most common form of the nickel defense features ...

on passing downs, tallying 13 tackles and one fumble recovery. In

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, he registered 22 tackles and one pass defensed. He also started his first career game in the season finale against the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

, replacing an injured

Ron Francis Ronald Michael Francis Jr. (born March 1, 1963) is a Canadian ice hockey sports executive and former player. He currently serves as the president of hockey operations for the Seattle Kraken. He spent most of his career as either a player or ex ...

, while making 11 tackles and one pass defensed. In

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

, he collected 31 tackles, one interception and 6 passes defensed. In

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

, he registered 3 starts, 27 tackles, 0.5 sacks, 6 quarterback pressures, 17 passes defensed and one fumble recovery. In

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

, he became a starter, with 10 of his 11 starts coming at right cornerback after passing

Robert Williams Robert, Rob, Robbie, Bob or Bobby Williams may refer to: Architecture * Train %26 Williams#Robert Edmund Williams, Robert Edmund Williams (1874–1960), Canadian-American architect * Robert Williams (architect) (1848–1918), Welsh architect a ...

on the depth chart. He finished with 65 tackles, one interception, 6 passes defensed, one quarterback pressure and one forced fumble. The next year, he lost his starting job to rookie Larry Brown after the third game. At the end of the 1991 season, he was left unprotected in

Plan B free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

San Francisco 49ers

On April 2,

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, he was signed in

by the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

, but was cut in July.

Buffalo Bills

On July 31,

, he signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

with the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

. He was released on August 31.

Personal life

Hendrix worked as the director of athletic relations and senior associate athletics director for development at the

. He also owned Manny's Auto Detailing and was a manager and part owner of Matthews Restaurant in Dallas. His son Manny Hendrix Jr., plays semi-professional

in Australia's Big V basketball league.

References

External links

Hendric Back at U. Advising Athletes
* ttps://www.tulsaworld.com/archives/long-shot-hendrix-beat-odds-at-first-dallas-camp/article_df0961dc-9361-539e-b5f9-688b2d75a61b.html Long Shot Hendrix Beat Odds at First Dallas Camp {{DEFAULTSORT:Hendrix, Manny 1964 births Living people Basketball players from Phoenix, Arizona Players of American football from Phoenix, Arizona American football cornerbacks Utah Utes men's basketball players Dallas Cowboys players American men's basketball players Guards (basketball) 20th-century American sportsmen