Sonny Mannino is coming off his first win as a Marist Red Fox. Amassing 279 passing yards and four rushing touchdowns with only one turnover, he clinched new head coach Mike Willis’s first win and a PFL weekly honoree. This interview was conducted two weeks before the win on Nov. 9.
Dan Aulbach, Football Beat Writer: Coming from Virginia, what made you want to play football in college?
Sonny Mannino: I think like every kid that ever has played a sport has just wanted to play some sort of collegiate or professional sport, whatever they play. I played basketball and football in high school and all the way growing up, and football was just more fun for me.
DA: What influenced you to continue with the sport over others?
SM: It’s just a lot more fast-paced. I just been playing football since I was four. I played flag. My parents got me into it.
DA: You’ve lined up in multiple positions in college, but what do you like most about the quarterback position?
SM: It’s just fun throwing the ball. I have a younger brother, and I just throw with him and throw with my dad. I’ve always played up until really high school, where I played multiple positions. I played all around the field, just being more athletic, but it’s just kind of just what happened. I was just able to throw farther than a lot of the people.
DA: To start the year, you had lined up in the backfield, the slot and more positions for those first few weeks. Talk about your experience being that versatile.
SM: Sophomore year, I played some special teams and stuff like that. But I was just honestly happy to be on the field, just throwing the ball, catching the ball, whatever I could do. And then, honestly, I was super excited when I got my chance to play quarterback.
DA: You were recruited by former Marist head coach Jim Parady. Talk about the initial recruiting process:
SM: It’s a far drive from Virginia, but my parents both from Amsterdam, New York. I have family relatively close. My parents are farther away, but if I need something, I have people close, which helps. During COVID, a lot of quarterbacks were staying for their fifth or sixth year. Not a lot of people getting a hit and there weren’t a lot of scholarships given out.
DA: Talk about your mentality when switching between coaching staffs this year. What was your initial reaction to meeting your new coaching staff?
SM: I was pretty excited. You get a lot of different shots, a lot of different chances to do things, and you don’t know what the new coaches are going to come in with their mindset of who they want to play, if they’re going to bring in new people or what they’re going to do. So I was pretty excited. The spring ball was fun. I got to compete I got moved up a little bit, which helped. Honestly, it was just really good for me.
DA: The way the quarterback room has worked, you kind of got your opportunity to go spontaneously. Can you talk about any adversity you’ve battled during your time here at Marist, and what keeps you fighting?
SM: Just being around the guys. I love the family aspect of football, where you have like 100-something guys that all rely on you. You rely on all of them to win, and I just love that. It’s really pushed me to get up every day.
DA: What’s your favorite part about the quarterback room?
SM: I feel like we’re a pretty tight quarterback room compared to other groups I’ve been with. We all do things together when we’re on the road traveling and we’re all roomed together. Everyone’s pretty outgoing. You want to compete with everyone, but at the same time, you’re you’re with each other the most. You do everything together, whether it’s watching film or living together.
DA: What was your takeaway after tying the school passing touchdown record a couple weeks ago?
SM: I had no clue about any of the stats or anything going into the game or during the game, but we didn’t get the outcome we wanted from the game. It honestly felt better like the week following, knowing that I was able to do that, but it couldn’t have been done without everyone else.
DA: What’s one skill of your quarterback play that you believe has allowed you to stick with that role in college?
SM: The athleticism, like I’m able to run and throw the ball. It helps if defenses are bailing, I can just go and pick up 10 yards if we need to.
DA: What’s one part of your game that you’re you’ve been kind of emphasizing to work on this year?
SM: Reading the defenses. Coach Davies helped me with that. The rotations and things like that, I feel like I’ve come a long way. I think he probably said the same thing.
DA: How do you rank your success in a year that has not had too much team success on the field?
SM: I’ve honestly not even been thinking about the personal stuff. We want to win, and that’s our biggest goal. So that’s just more what’s been on my mind, just as a team, it’s been more of a team and group effort.
DA: What makes you bought into this coaching staff?
SM: Just like seeing what Coach [Mike] Willis and the rest of the coaching staff have done at their previous schools and seeing what Marist can be as a football program.
DA: What’s been the most difficult part about adjusting to a leadership role?
SM: I mean, I played quarterback for a while. I mean, I’ve it’s a lot of the same. You got to always be pushing everyone else to be better, even if you’re not the captain. It’s what I’m always just trying to do, whether it’s in the weight room, watching film, whatever it is, you’re always pushing everyone and pushing yourself.
Photo by Jaylen Rizzo
For more coverage of Marist athletics, follow @cfmarist on Instagram, X and TikTok, and sign up to receive daily alerts here.