Josh Manning says KU is building a championship atmosphere

Lawrence is starting to have a familiar feel to Joshua Manning. One of the top wide receivers in the region, Manning has made several visits to the University of Kansas.

His most recent visit was for a junior day event at the end of January.

“It felt great,” Manning said. “Starting to get familiar with the place and got to see the meeting rooms and coaches’ office.”

Manning made several visits to Kansas, but most of those were before Terrence Samuel was hired as the wide receivers coach. Samuel was hired in the middle of December after Manning took his first three visits to KU.

On his last trip Manning was able to sit down with Samuel and hear more about his coaching philosophy.

“I finally got to meet Coach Samuel and he’s a great guy and looks like a great coach,” Manning said. “I got to talk football with him and overall had a great time.”

Manning has also built a good bond with Kansas head coach Lance Leipold. He has had the opportunity to talk with him on every visit. He did not go into details about his conversation but said their talks have been positive.

“I got a chance to talk to Coach Leipold and we have great talks every time,” Manning said. “I can’t get too in-depth with what we talk about, but they are great talks.”

The Lee’s Summit product has been following the program since Leipold and his staff were hired. He attended two games last season and saw the progress the team made during the year.

“Their direction is definitely going uphill,” Manning said. “I can tell all the coaches want the team going in the right direction and that’s we’re there going. They are building a championship atmosphere for sure.”

Manning holds offers from several schools including Kansas, Wisconsin, Kansas State, Iowa, Iowa State, and several others.

He said he plans to take a visit to Iowa on March 5, and that is the only one officially in the books.

“The process has been stressful because I love all the schools because they love me,” he said. “But I am learning to have fun with it. What’s important is the team’s offense and how I can fit and them. And the position coach which can help me better myself.”