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Mann may have quirks, but actions and words make him Eagles' defensive leader

NIXA'S PARKER MANN and the Eagles will take part in a jamboree at 7 p.m. Friday at Kickapoo.
NIXA'S PARKER MANN and the Eagles will take part in a jamboree at 7 p.m. Friday at Kickapoo.
PAT DAILEY/HEADLINER NEWS
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The tangible results Parker Mann provided last season weren’t deemed good enough for COC coaches to present him with All-COC First-Team recognition. Perhaps the intangibles he’s supplying this time around will help serve as persuasion to reward him properly.

Coming off a 133-tackle junior season, Mann is now the wholly acknowledged kingpin of Nixa’s defense.

“He's the heartbeat of the defense, no doubt about it,” coach John Perry said. “I'm glad he's the heartbeat. He’s a complete dawg, a stud.”

Mann’s leadership comes through in his actions and his voice, no matter the time or setting. Practice is a prime time to witness the example he sets, as he responds to each snap with unending energy and fervor.

"Practice is everything,” Mann said. “What happens in practice happens in games. If we come out of the locker room and are dead with no energy, that's how we're going to play in games. (Teammates) are going to match what I do. If someone is having a bad day or maybe didn't get breakfast, I try to supply (energy) to boost their energy up.

“That's the kid inside of me,” he added. “I’ve always been an energized kid, especially when I get the helmet and pads on. I flip into a different type of energy. I'm so excited to be out here.”

Mann isn’t without his quirks. In between snaps during practices, he’ll joke with his defensive cohorts and will even execute a cartwheel. He separates work from play when the offense breaks from its huddle.

“For me, it’s really easy,” Mann said of flicking the proverbial switch. “There is the time when we lock in, snap out of the goofiness and play football. I’m going to goof around and have fun. But when I get on the field, I'm in the zone.”

As an outside linebacker last season, Mann notched 88 solo stops, 10 TFLs, two quarterback sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and nine deflected passes. He capped his breakout year with 12 solo tackles, including a sack, in Nixa’s Class 6 Quarterfinal loss at Rockhurst.

It added up to only an All-COC Second-Team selection that hardly met the expectations of anyone at Nixa. As a reminder sports fans, Branson had more All-COC First-Team picks on defense than the league champion Eagles.

Mann followed up in the off-season by being named the top defensive back at a Kansas City Regional Exposure Camp.

He’s assuming 2024 grad Spencer Ward’s former spot at strong safety.

“It helps that I learned from Spencer,” Mann said. “He was a great leader. I still talk to him to this day and work out with him when I can.”

Mann’s peculiarity also includes his documented preference to play sans socks and his well-earned reputation to stand out or take on a dare.

“We will come out here when it's 28 degrees in the off-season and he's out here with shorts and no shirt on,” Perry said. “Then, he might go off to the side and eat a cricket. He is a tough dude.”

Mann would welcome the chance in the future to be a contestant on “Survivor.”

"I would fit perfectly on that,” he said. “Growing up, me and my Mom used to watch it all the time. The challenges they do, I feel like I could do them pretty easily. (Eating an insect) can be gross. There's that mentality you have to have, you're either going to eat it, or you’re going to starve. I feel I could compete.”


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