Manny Wilkins Jr. (born November 5, 1995) is an American professional

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 ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for the St. Louis Battlehawks of the United Football League (UFL). He played

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 ...

for

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is one of the largest ...

. After going

undrafted 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 ...

in the

2019 NFL draft The 2019 NFL draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville. The first round was held ...

, Wilkins signed with the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

of 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), but was released the following year, in 2020. After a three-year hiatus, in 2023, Wilkins was picked up by the St. Louis Battlehawks, then of the XFL, now of the UFL, where he has continued to play as starting quarterback.

Early life

When Wilkins was 16, he was identified as a talented prospect. Wilkins's father, Manny Wilkins Sr., died when Manny was 10 years old in 2006. Wilkins relocated to

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

with his mother in 2008, where he played football at Elkins High School. He relocated back to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

to live with his aunt and uncle and started at quarterback while attending

San Marin High School San Marin High School is a public high school located in Novato, California, in the United States. History San Marin High School opened in 1968 in Novato. Robert Vieth became principal in 2007, after the former principal was dismissed by the ...

Novato, California Novato (Spanish language, Spanish for "Novatus") is a city in Marin County, California, United States, situated in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 c ...

College career

Wilkins came to

as one of the most prolific quarterback prospects in Arizona State history. After redshirting his first season, and only appearing in three games in his redshirt freshman campaign, Wilkins won the starting quarterback position, beating out fellow highly touted prospect,

Brady White Brady White (born August 15, 1996) is an American professional football quarterback. He began his college football career at Arizona State University, before becoming a graduate transfer to the University of Memphis. Early life White was unanim ...

. In 2015, Wilkins saw limited game action, Wilkins did not throw a pass, but had 7 rushing attempts for 55 yards. As a sophomore, Wilkins started 10 games beating out Brady White for the starting job in training camp. Wilkins finished the season with 197 completions for 311 attempts for 2329 yards and 12 touchdowns with 9 interceptions. Wilkins also had 128 rushing attempts for 246 yards and 5 touchdowns. As a junior, Wilkins started all 13 games and had 260 completions on 410 attempts for 3270 yards and 20 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. Wilkins rushed on 138 attempts for 282 yards and 7 touchdowns. As a senior, Wilkins started all 13 games and had 247 completions and 393 attempts. He threw for 3025 yards for 20 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. Wilkins also rushed on 112 attempts for 452 yards and 8 touchdowns.

Statistics

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

Wilkins signed with the

as an undrafted free agent on May 3, 2019. He was waived on August 31, 2019, and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Packers on January 21, 2020. He was released by the Packers on April 27, 2020.

St. Louis Battlehawks

On February 12, 2023, Wilkins signed with the St. Louis Battlehawks, then of the XFL. He re-signed with the team on February 8, 2024. Wilkins spent the 2024 season as the second string quarterback behind veteran starter

AJ McCarron Raymond Anthony "A. J." McCarron Jr. (born September 13, 1990) is an American professional football quarterback. He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, becoming the first quarterback to win consecutive BCS National Championshi ...

. He saw action in five games that year, including two as starting quarterback following an injury to McCarron. On December 20, 2024, Wilkins re-signed with the Battlehawks, now of the UFL. Wilkins began the 2025 season as the starting quarterback until suffering a season-ending

Achilles heel An Achilles' heel (or Achilles heel) is a weakness despite overall strength, which can lead to downfall. While the mythological origin refers to a physical vulnerability, idiomatic references to other attributes or qualities that can lead to do ...

injury in Week 4.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkins, Manny 1995 births Living people Sportspeople from Novato, California Players of American football from Marin County, California San Marin High School alumni American football quarterbacks Arizona State Sun Devils football players Green Bay Packers players St. Louis Battlehawks players