Inside linebacker Oleh Manzyk wasn’t sure what his role would be on this year’s New Hampshire team. Turns out it’s a major one.

Manzyk, a true freshman, originally thought this would be a redshirt season. Instead, he was thrust into the middle of a unit that will enter Saturday night’s game at Stony Brook ranked first among Colonial Athletic Association teams in scoring defense (16.6 points per game), third in rushing defense (124.4), third in pass defense (212.4), and tied for first in sacks.

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Manzyk has played in each of UNH’s five games, and started the last four. 

“I definitely didn’t expect this,” Manzyk said. “A lot more comfortable now. In the preseason I didn’t really know much yet. I was still trying to learn the concept of the defense, and now I feel like I have a better understanding of the defense and can just go out and not think, just react on the field.

“After every game I get more and more comfortable with the game speed and adjusting. For the most part it’s our defense as a unit flying around, and that’s letting me make plays.”

It took a strange series of events for Manzyk to get on the field this much this early in his college career. An incident at a UNH fraternity during the offseason resulted in three inside linebackers leaving the program. At that point Manzyk was asked to arrive on campus early (June) to get a jumpstart on digesting the team’s defense. Then senior Michael Balsamo, UNH’s most experienced linebacker, sustained a thumb injury during UNH’s opener at Holy Cross that has prevented him from playing since then. 

What a day for freshman Oleh Manzyk! A big sack on the way to another defensive stop for New Hampshire!#CAAFB #GraniteStrong #BeTheRoar pic.twitter.com/HmmXK99IVU

— UNH Football (@UNH_Football) October 5, 2019

“We had to get him ready faster,” UNH linebackers coach Garrett Gillick said. “To his credit, he was able to pick it up.

“He would have definitely played a lot of snaps, but I don’t know that he would have played this much this soon if Mike (Balsamo) didn’t get hurt.”

Manzyk played both linebacker and tight end at Neshaminy High School in Langhorne, Pa. He became the first player in Neshaminy’s 88-year history to be named to the all-state team at two positions.

There was never any doubt about which position he would play at UNH, even though he’s undersized for a middle linebacker (6-foot-1, 205 pounds). Manzyk said there’s no chance he would have earned this much playing time had he not spent the summer on campus and getting a headstart on football, and he admitted to being in over his head when he entered the Holy Cross game.

“Definitely,” he said. “Not that I didn’t know what I was doing, but I didn’t have the confidence to completely go full speed with what I was doing. I was hesitating out there.

“It’s night and day with the comfort level and confidence now. The guys around me -- I’m more comfortable with them, and they’re more confident in me now.”

Manzyk has 25 tackles (17 solo), four sacks, and an interception this season. He’s been at his best in conference games. Manzyk recorded seven tackles in a 27-24 victory over Rhode Island, and then introduced himself to UNH fans during a Homecoming victory over Elon last Saturday.

He was named the STATS FCS Freshman of the Week, CAA Rookie of the Week, and won the New England Football Writers’ Association Division I Gold Helmet Award after he recorded eight tackles, three sacks, and returned an interception 55 yards for a touchdown to help the Wildcats beat the Phoenix 26-10.

Game 5 Report: Defensive pressure, TDs key to 3rd straight @UNH_Football victory. Road tests up next. https://t.co/qEzu9tzRiy @UNHAlumni @UNHStudents @UofNH @UNHCatClub #603Cats #GraniteStrong pic.twitter.com/S7IkohOBq4

— UNH Insider (@UNHInsider) October 6, 2019

Manzyk uses his speed (4.5 in the 40) and athleticism to make up for his lack of size. Those attributes make him particularly effective when opponents are in passing situations on third down.

“You’re a little concerned about his size, but if you’re smart you can play small,” Gillick explained. “That’s just the way it is. You can be in the right place. 

“He’s explosive. He can run. Even though he’s not as strong as we’d like him to be or as heavy as we’d like him to be, his ability to key and diagnose and get to where he needs to get to is just as important. It’s like dial-up internet versus high speed. If you got a kid that’s great looking but he’s always on dial-up, well he can never trigger. If you got a kid who’s on high speed, maybe not as big but he sees it and can anticipate, well then that’s all the difference in the world because you can beat somebody to a spot as opposed to having to go through him to get there. I think physically he’s going to be fine.”

According to UNH interim head coach Ricky Santos, there’s a high ceiling in terms of what Manzyk can accomplish during his college career.

“He’s such an instinctual football player,” Santos said. “Coach Gillick has done a great job during his tenure here of getting young guys up to speed. No different in this case. He plays hard. We’re very encouraged with his future.”