Arizona was the first Power Five program to offer three-star linebacker Jacob Manu this fall. Instead of waiting to see if that offer opened up the flood gates, the Servite High School (Anaheim, California) standout senior decided to jump on the opportunity to play for the Wildcats.

Manu committed to play for Jedd Fisch's program Sunday, which is just one week after he was offered by the program. The Arizona head coach made the trek to Southern California to watch Manu late last month with an offer coming just a few days later.

Arizona's belief in Manu's abilities meant a lot to the 5-foot-11 recruit. So much that he didn't see a reason to wait on pulling the trigger on a commitment to the Wildcats.

"For them to believe in me meant a lot, because I’m not the prototype linebacker," Manu said about what led to his decision to pick Arizona. "Coach Don Brown is a known linebacker coach that has coached top guys in the league, and the opportunity to be coached by him was huge and I knew I had to take it."

Manu picked up an offer from Army in the summer in addition to holding opportunities to play in the Ivy League at programs such as Dartmouth and Penn. The 2022 recruit is not unaware of the challenges a linebacker of his size faces when it comes to earning college attention.

That's why a team like Arizona coming through with an offer meant so much to him.

"The fact that a Pac-12 team like UofA ignored my size and showed me so much love and support because of my talent is what stood out to me the most," he said. "I’m also a Cali boy and didn’t want to be too far from home so Arizona was just enough distance for me."