Timote Taliai Manoa (born September 9, 1964) is a Tongan-born former 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 ...

player. He played fullback for four seasons 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

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

and

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

. He played collegiately at

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

and was a member of both the 1986 national championship team. Manoa was born in Tonga, but at age 10 moved to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

where he discovered American football. He attended Kahuku High School from grades 7 to 9 before moving to Wexford, Pennsylvania. There he attended North Allegheny High . Manoa was named a Parade

All-America 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 ...

n and was heavily recruited by several top college football programs, including

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, Pitt,

, and Ohio State, before selecting Penn State. After outstanding junior and senior seasons as part of Penn State's "Baby Bull Backfield" fullback tandem (with Steve Smith), Manoa was invited to the Hula Bowl, Senior Bowl, and the

NFL Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

where his NFL draft stock rose steadily. He was selected in the 3rd round (#80) of the

1987 NFL draft The 1987 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 28–29, 1987, at the Marriot Ma ...

by the Browns. He would play 3 seasons in Cleveland under

Marty Schottenheimer Martin Edward Schottenheimer (; September 23, 1943 – February 8, 2021) was an American professional football linebacker and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons. He was the head coach of the Cl ...

and Bud Carson before moving on for a final season with Indianapolis. Manoa now teaches speed training at Rocky's Personalized Training in Boardman, Ohio.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manoa, Tim Living people American football fullbacks Cleveland Browns players Indianapolis Colts players Penn State Nittany Lions football players Players of American football from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Tongan emigrants to the United States Tongan players of American football 1964 births