Louisiana offensive lineman Devon Manuel chose Arkansas on June 16 over offers from Michigan State, Kansas, Iowa State, Indiana, Houston, and ULL. His frame and the way recruiting has been changed due to COVID-19 are reasons why he could gain more offers later in process on top of having a questionable quality of film and limited exposure to trainers in the area he lives in. He’s a valuable commit and a solid 3-star prospect, possibly worth being a high 3-star if he can put forth higher quality film or if in-person evaluations were currently a possibility for analysts.

Manuel reminds me a lot of those kids that Mississippi State seems to find that end up being mid-round draft picks that come from those small towns in Mississippi and Louisiana and I really love recruiting those rural area kids.

The Beau Chene standout is really, really raw. What shines from his tape is he comes off as a very competitive kid that plays long. He finishes blocks well, a trait that makes or breaks an OL for me in high school. Do you put high school kids on the turf? He does.

He flashes impressive feet and power at times and that shows the possibility of putting consistent nuanced OL technique on tape over a long period of time with the right coaches (which Arkansas has). There’s definitely reason for pause on a guy as raw as Manuel but I love taking a high risk-high reward project in every class because hitting on these guys is huge.