‘The quarterback of the offensive line’: Hoffman Estates center Manley in constant pursuit of perfection

At the end of Thursday football practices, Hoffman Estates offensive line coach Joe Garofalo gathers his linemen for what he calls “buffalo talks.”

More about life than about football, center Connor Manley said Garofalo’s discussions reference buffalo “charging the storm” — achieving success by meeting adversity directly rather than running away from it.

“He says that basically all the problems that you go through in life, you should charge headfirst through them and basically just kind of go all out,” said Manley, a 6-foot, 215-pound junior.

“Connor’s a great example in that scenario as the center,” said Garofalo, son of former Chicago Cubs head athletic trainer Tony Garofalo.

“You kind of have to always be the buffalo, right?” he said. “You always have to take control of the scenario, you always have to be the leader of that scenario. And you always have to do something that everybody takes for granted — and do it well, every time.”

In Manley’s case that would be snapping the ball quickly and accurately on a line to Hawks quarterback Austin Lezniak in the shotgun formation. Lezniak’s a big target at 6-foot-5, and despite Manley playing center for the first time since a scrimmage his freshman year, he hasn’t muffed a snap this season.

“I like (the snap) waist and above, that’s all I ask for,” Lezniak said. “He’s been really good so far. There hasn’t been much correcting.”

As Garofalo said, no one notices the snap until there’s a bad one, and then all eyes are on the center. But delivering accurate snaps is the tip of the iceberg for Manley and those who play the position, such as his current backup, junior Noah Diaz.

Manley, who wanted to be a linemen since he started with the Hoffman Estates Redhawks in the eighth grade, admitted it’s been a struggle to follow the snap with that quick first step toward his blocking assignment.

“I feel like I’m always a step behind everyone,” he said.

Manley took a positive step toward improving his footwork last spring when he joined Hoffman Estates’ track and field team, throwing shot put and discus for assistant track coach Tim Heyse, the Hawks’ head football coach.

“It is all footwork,” Heyse said of the link between throwing implements and playing offensive line.

Playing center obviously is a physical challenge. It’s a mental one as well.

“You almost have to be like the quarterback of the offensive line,” Garofalo said.

“They’re the ones that send in our pass protection, they’re the ones that are making our line calls, they’re the ones that are getting up there, getting set, and communicating.

“You really have to be able to be a great communicator, see everything, be a great leader in addition to — in my opinion, what’s one of the hardest things — snapping the ball and then making a block right away,” Garofalo said.

Manley knows his fellow Hawks linemates’ blocking assignments and will remind them if they don’t remember. He calls out double teams up front and indicates plays where linemen pull down the line.

“I’ll let them know just in case they forget, to minimize mistakes,” Manley said.

Manley hates mistakes. His curiosity and pursuit of perfection are two of his best traits, Heyse said.

“He asks questions more than anyone,” the coach said. “He really wants to get things right; he really wants to be perfect. If he’s confused about anything in practice, he will not run the play. He will ask our O-line coach, ‘What do we do in this situation?’ He’s a student of the game, and he wants to be perfect. He goes at it hard.”

Like a buffalo charging into a storm.

“I feel like I’ve applied that mainly to my football life,” Manley said.

“Whenever I’m in a game, if I don’t think I can do it, I’ll just try as hard as I can and try and leave it all out on that field.”