Mannie has been with the Spartan football team for more than two decades now, entering his 22nd season. He has a daughter who graduated from MSU and his family is deeply rooted in green and white.

He has been a staple in many Spartans’ lives, with early-morning workouts being a routine players expect year-round.

Perhaps one of the most grueling workouts Mannie is in charge of is the fourth quarter program, which also doubles as offseason conditioning. Rigorous and effective, Mannie found the inspiration for it through former Spartan and current MSU Athletics Hall of Famer, Carl “Buck” Nystrom.

“When I came here back in 1995 with Coach (Nick) Saban, I sat down with Coach Nystrom and he taught it inside out to me,” Mannie said. “The basic foundation of it is still in place.”

Along with the fourth quarter program, Mannie and his staff have players come in early in the morning to get their morning workouts done. With spring football starting back up, some players have to get up as early as 5 a.m. in order to make it to the workouts on time.

During these early-morning sessions, players know what to stress as they lift their weights. Head coach Mark Dantonio constantly mentions and stresses that he wants his football team to get 3 percent better everyday. Naturally, that spills over to weight room, and Mannie said he knows that.

“(Getting 3 percent better) is not just coach speak, that comes from the heart,” Mannie said. “We talk about earning the jersey around here. That’s an everyday thing. Getting that 3 percent better is a part of earning that jersey."

While there’s a huge focus on maintaining peak physical condition, there’s no denying the emphasis Mannie puts on the integrity of his players. That way, the players have the chance to use the life lessons they learn from him and apply them to the real world.

“Let’s face it, not everyone is going to the NFL,” Mannie said. “Most of the guys are going to go off and venture off into life after football. What are you going to do for the next 50-something years of your life? Teaching them to get on that extra mile and live there, and build their house there, and be a fighter there, and work hard there every single day of their lives will prepare them for that. Those are some of the life lesson we’re trying to teach as well.”

Former Spartan and captain Darien Harris said he knows how big of an influence Mannie has on the players. Regarded as one of the strongest players in college football his senior year, Mannie’s company and tutelage could be seen on and off the field.

“Once you get here, he really becomes that father figure to you,” Harris said. “He’s the coach you see the most out of anybody. His ability to mold us, not only as football players but as men is really second to none.”

Behind the scenes, the MSU football team is back at conditioning just one week after their bowl game ends, Harris said. Coupled with 6 a.m. workouts, Mannie and his staff make sure they’re in peak physical and mental condition year-long.

“The work we do we can do at five in the afternoon, three in the afternoon,” Harris said. “But really it’s for the mental aspect of it. That’s what Coach Mannie is always trying to teach us. The mental game is so much more important than the physical game.”

After wrapping up his senior year, Harris has been in Mannie’s programs as much as anyone else. Being so close to him, he understands the message Mannie has to send through the grueling workouts, especially the fourth quarter program.

“The reason we call it the fourth quarter program is because we know it’s important to finish in the fourth quarter,” Harris said. “We know that’s the most important part of the game and we feel we can outlast anybody in the fourth quarter because we put so much emphasis on it in the offseason.”

On the other end of the spectrum from a graduating senior, true freshman Messiah deWeaver has felt the effects of Mannie on his body. From the constant grueling workouts, deWeaver says he put around some muscle on his frame.

“My weight was low when I got here,” deWeaver said. “I think I got faster. We did the combine stuff. My athleticism is getting better and I’m just a better football player right now.”

Behind the scenes, fans often forget how early football players and their staff have to get up to do their jobs.

A true freshman like deWeaver is just figuring out the little nuances of the college game.

As deWeaver gets accustomed to college and Mannie’s workout programs, he will have the chance to end as a finished product like Harris.

With the emphasis Mannie puts on not just the physical, but the mental aspect of a player, there’s a lot of work to be done.

But for Mannie, he loves to end things with this little phrase, a testament to his coaching style.

“Stay strong, stay in the fight, and keep making a positive impact on everybody you touch,” Mannie said. “Then you can’t help but be successful.”