Gilmer’s Manuel Johnson has now spent almost three-fourths of his first season in the NFL on the Dallas Cowboys Practice Squad. It’s hard to imagine it has been five years since he guided the Gilmer Buckeyes to the Class 3A Division II State Championship, but one thing evident now about this remarkable young man is that he still has that quiet, humble personality that he has always possessed, and now he has maturity to go along with it.

The Mirror caught up with “Manny,” as he is now known, a nickname given to him during his four years at the University of Oklahoma, at the Cowboys’ Thanksgiving Day game against the Oakland Raiders. To know and talk with Gilmer’s biggest football hero is always a pleasure.

We asked him his thoughts on the No. 1 Buckeyes’ season. “They’re doing real good. They’re keeping that tradition going, 12-0 now, about to be 13-0, hopefully, so I’m happy to be from Gilmer right now.”

He also had some advice for current Buckeye quarterback Stump Godfrey as he attempts to bring a State Championship trophy back to Gilmer this season. “Just keep practicing hard. I know the season’s long, but just take it a game at a time and it will be over before you know it, so just keep on working hard. I think they’ll be fine and they’ve been through a whole bunch of stuff. They’re the No. 1-ranked team, so that’s better than us (the ’04 team). We started from nowhere, and they started at the top, so I’m sure Coach Traylor has talked to them, so they know how to handle everything. I know he’s (Godfrey) doing a great job, and hopefully, he’ll lead them to the second State Championship.”

He continued, “I think when we were there, there was no pressure, but now in Gilmer they’ve had pressure from game one, but I think they’ve handled it well. They’ve had some games where it started off bad, and came out at the end, but I think they’ll handle it.”

Although he would have loved to have been on the active roster this season, Manuel accepts his current position with the team. “I’m just trying to take everything in stride right now. Once I went to Oklahoma, I just watched and developed as the seasons went on, and I’m doing the same thing here. I get to go against the best, you know, Terrence Newman, (Mike) Jenkins, and all of them, so I just take every day and try to get better. I feel good. I feel like each day you practice you get better. I don’t feel like there’s any wasted days.”

We asked him if there had been any discussion among the coaches and the team about the problems the Cowboys have had during the month of December in the past few seasons. “No, that was a different team. I think we’re better now. They learned from that. This is a new team. I think we’re better this year.”

Dallas Cowboys’ fans are hoping that his assessment is correct. We’ll know very soon, as the next game the ’Boys play will be on Dec. 6 in The Meadowlands against the New York Giants. If they start the month off right with a road win, this team still may have an opportunity to achieve greatness this season, and shock a few teams in the playoffs along the way.

We also caught up with Tatum native and TCU star Stephen Hodge after the game and asked him how he was recovering from a season-ending injury he suffered in the preseason earlier this year. “At first it was a mental thing because I’d never been injured, so coming here, getting a chance to play, your dream job, and having that happen is tough. I’m just rehabbing right now. I haven’t started running, so it’s going to be a long process, so we’re just taking our time and not trying to rush anything. I’m on injured reserve, so there’s no need to rush anything. We’re just taking our time, and hopefully, I’ll be ready for the offseason.”

He also feels this is a different Cowboys team from the one of the previous three seasons. “I just think that what went down in the locker room (last year) is totally different this year. I don’t think you have selfish people. Everybody is there for the common goal, which is to make it to the Super Bowl, and I feel like everybody plays their hardest and practices their hardest. I think everybody is just trying to win. I don’t there’s going to be any going down for the Cowboys. I think it’s nothing but up. I think it’s good. (On defense) You’ve got Gerald Sensabaugh back there backing up Ken Hamlin, and you bring in Keith Brooking, a twelve year player and future Hall of Fame linebacker, and the intensity that he brings and the focus he brings next to Bradie James, and the D-line is just tremendous. You’ve got D’Ware on the end, and Spencer, Ratliff, and Spears. With a team like that you can’t do anything but just have a great defense.”

Hodge said that despite the rivalry he had with the Buckeyes and Manny that they were good friends. “Oh yeah, me and Manny started our little rivalry back in seventh grade, you know, so we’ve been going at it since then, but it’s good to have him as a teammate. I remember we played against each other when he was at Oklahoma and I was at TCU, and then I texted him on Draft Day and told him that we were finally on the same team. It’s been good having him around.”

To his credit, Stephen admitted despite the Gilmer-Tatum rivalry, he is pulling for the Buckeyes to bring the hardware back to Gilmer. “With all the people from East Texas on this team—we’ve got Manny from East Texas, me, Montrae Holland from Jefferson, and when you’re from East Texas, it’s good for everybody. I wish Gilmer the best. Tatum’s out, so Gilmer’s got to take it and win it all!”