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From Jackie MacMullan, posted on ESPNBoston:
Logan Mankins' football life has changed considerably, but he's as tractor-tough as ever - ESPN Boston
We all know about Mankins the tough guy, but the article also highlights some of Mankins' athleticism:
In spite of a rough year, going into the playoffs Mankins says he feels much healthier than a year ago. That's got to be good.
Logan Mankins' football life has changed considerably, but he's as tractor-tough as ever - ESPN Boston
We all know about Mankins the tough guy, but the article also highlights some of Mankins' athleticism:
Mankins was a champion roper and a three-sport star at Mariposa High. He stood 6-foot-4, 240 pounds, and when he caught the ball on the block in basketball, opposing players shrank from the contact.
"It wasn't enough for him to score," [his high school basketball coach Trace] DeSandres said. "Logan was going to punish you on the way to the basket."
Mankins was on course to breaking the school's basketball scoring record in his senior season when, in the first quarter of a game against the Delhi Hawks, he hauled in a rebound. One player jostled him for the ball, while another came up from behind and tried to poke it free.
"So Logan chinned the ball, and when he brought it up, he threw one kid in one direction, and elbowed the other kid in the chest and sent him 10 feet in the opposite direction," DeSandres recalled. "It was the most amazing thing. The refs threw him out of the game, even though it was totally legal. He was on his way to 30 that night, but he only had 4 points when he got tossed. It cost him the scoring title."
On the baseball field, Mankins was, his coach said, "a mountain" playing third base. When players stepped into the batter's box, they determined bunting down the third base line was a viable strategy.
Those who dared to raise Mankins' ire by questioning his speed blanched as he thundered down the line, scooping the ball. What they didn't realize was he was also a pitcher, and delighted in firing a fastball in the mid-80s toward first base within a hair of their ear, to remind them to think twice about challenging him again.
It was more of the same on the football field, where Mankins played tight end, fullback and linebacker.
There was the time Mankins came barreling across the middle at tight end just as his quarterback threw 3 feet behind him. Without breaking stride, Mankins reached back with one hand, grabbed the nose of the ball and pulled it in. Then there was the time he lined up at fullback and flattened the linebackers on back-to-back plays with such force, the third time they simply turtled and let him score.
In spite of a rough year, going into the playoffs Mankins says he feels much healthier than a year ago. That's got to be good.