Mancl is model student athlete

They say a jack of all trades is a master of none, yet football's Joel Mancl seems to have found a way around that adage.

In the great tradition of the Princeton scholar-athlete, the senior pursues both his athletic and academic interests with equal vigor, having fun all the while.

"He's a very responsible, very dedicated, outstanding person," head coach Roger Hughes said of the 6-foot, 225-pound senior.

His background makes him seem an unlikely candidate for Princeton. To his knowledge, no one within a 200-mile radius of his home in Rhinelander, Wis., had ever attended the school before he did.

However, his football grooming made him a good fit in the Tiger offense. Mancl started playing football in first grade. "I've been playing pretty much my whole life," he said.

Mancl, too, has always found himself at home with his team.

"The camaraderie is pretty good — you become instant friends with everyone on the team. [It was] definitely a plus coming in not knowing a whole lot of people and having 110 friends instantly when you walk on campus," Mancl said.

His lively personality helped make that environment so comforting.

"He's constantly talking," Hughes said.

While the fullback does not boast an impressive collection of stats, his role on the team is indispensable. Usually at the point of attack on the plays, he makes many of the blocks that help the Tigers advance upfield.

"That's probably the hardest position to play in our offense — he has to know so much," Hughes said. "He handles it with excellence."

Mancl's mental excellence for the Tigers continues off the field, and it is the more important reason for his attending Princeton. In class, the mechanical and aerospace engineering major excels at math and science.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

"I always liked to mess around with building things and figuring out how they work and that sort of carried on here," he said.

Mancl faces up to the task of being both an engineer and a varsity football player with a toughness that is the key element of his personality.

That toughness became apparent after Mancl suffered a season-ending ACL tear in his junior year.

Mancl, though, has responded "tremendously" to that injury, Hughes said.

"He worked very hard to get himself rehabbed, and he came to camp in the fall [of this season] in the best shape of his life."

Hughes also noted that Mancl has been playing on a sprained ankle this year, but has not let it hold him back.

Despite his injuries, Mancl has been a key player on the team throughout his career at Princeton.

"Joel has been a mainstay of our backfield for the past three years," offensive coordinator and running backs coach David Rackovan said.

Football — "It's basically a full-time job," Mancl said — and his engineering courses leave the Cap and Gown member with little time for other pursuits. Instead, he throws himself into those activities he has chosen and makes everyone around him happy that he is there.

"He has a great sense of humor and is a pleasure to be around," Rackovan said.

When graduation rolls around, this jack of all trades will be missed.