A year ago at this time, Jacob Manu had to choose which four University of Washington football games he would play in during the regular season in order to preserve a fifth year of eligibility.

It was a tedious process, with the 5-foot-10, 225-pound linebacker coming off a knee injury to pull on a uniform and face the likes of Ohio State and Michigan, yet sitting out against a bevy of teams such as Illinois and Wisconsin.

As it turned out, Manu was simply a year too early in his quest to extend his college career to his total advantage. Had the new NCAA rule been available that now offers players five full years of eligibility over a five-year window, he could have played the entire season this year and last.

As it stands, he's put in seven games for the Huskies without a miss, become a team captain and presumably drawn a nice stipend for his services.

Yet Manu has had sort of a ho-hum season for him so far.

After piling up 116 tackles in his last previous full season in 2023, he has just 40 as he…