Temple's McManus living Super Bowl dream

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Brandon McManus wants to run a Super Bowl someday. But first, he has to play in one. And, of course, the Broncos kicker would like nothing more than to win one with a game-winning kick.

"I always felt I was destined for this," McManus said this week. "I always wanted to take the penalty kick in soccer, the final free throws in basketball. It's kind of who I always was growing up. I've trained my body how to handle and control the stress and nervousness of it."

McManus, a Lansdale native and product of North Penn High School and Temple, has already proved that he can make clutch field goals in the NFL. He booted the clincher in overtime against the Bengals in Week 16. He went 5 for 5 in Denver's divisional playoff win over the Steelers. And he connected on both tries - one coming from 52 yards - in a heart-pounding AFC championship victory over the Patriots.

McManus, 24, accomplished all this in his first full season. He hasn't been perfect. He missed a 45-yard attempt in regulation against the Bengals that wouldn't have made the overtime kick necessary. But like much of his career, McManus always seems to make the most of his second chances.

"He's just like any young player - he's got to experience those things," Broncos special-teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis said. "Luckily, in our year there's been a lot of close games and he has experienced it."

He's unlikely to get any do-overs in Sunday's Super Bowl 50 against the Panthers. But preparation is key, and McManus - like most kickers - knows that as well as anyone. He's already begun training in his quest to someday plan and run the Super Bowl.

This past summer, McManus served as an intern with the United States Golf Association as the organization put on the U.S. Women's Open in Lancaster, Pa. And this week, he has been scrutinizing more than just his kicking technique. McManus said he's been using his phone to record how the NFL goes about running one of the biggest sporting events in the world.

"Growing up it was a dream of mine to play in the Super Bowl. But there's another," McManus said. "After I'm done playing, hopefully I'll be able to plan one."

It could be a while before he gets the opportunity. McManus had already proved his bona fides as the Broncos' primary kickoff specialist last season. But this year he beat out Connor Barth to handle all of the kicking duties, and he has significantly improved his accuracy on field goals.

McManus connected on 30 of 35 attempts (85.7 percent) and has been a perfect 7 of 7 in the postseason. In the season opener, he became the third kicker in NFL history - joining Sebastian Janikowski and Greg Zuerlein - to make multiple field goals of 56 yards or more.

Just a little over a year ago, McManus was waived by the Broncos after missing four of 13 tries.

"I don't think it hindered my confidence at all," McManus said Wednesday. "Two of my kicks hit the uprights and the other two were beyond 50. I wasn't way off on a lot of the kicks. I was thankful [vice president of football operations John] Elway and the Broncos brought me back and I was able to just focus on kickoffs there."

But McManus never stopped working on his field-goal technique. He shortened his stride from 21/2 steps to two, which might not seem like much to the amateur, but it was a significant change considering that kicking is an act of inches.

"I was worried that I would lose some power, but it ended up not mattering," McManus said. "It gave me a lot more confidence and control over my body and that's why you saw the spike in accuracy."

McManus knows that even the most accurate aren't immune to missing pressure kicks. Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski, widely considered the best in the league, shanked an extra point in the AFC title game that ultimately forced his team to try and fail on a two-pointer in the closing moments.

McManus originally said he hated it when the NFL decided to move extra points back to the 15-yard line.

"I still don't enjoy it that much," McManus said. "You kind of have to deal with what you're dealt. . . . I don't know if they wanted to make the play more competitive. I don't know if people are still using that extra point to get up and go to the bathroom."

McManus was long a football watcher before he took up kicking. He first played in seventh grade as a quarterback and part-time kicker, but he didn't take the latter seriously until he tried out for North Penn's varsity team and made it as a ninth grader.

"It was pretty cool walking the hallways of my middle school wearing the high school jersey," McManus said.

He was recruited initially by Penn State, but when the Nittany Lions chose another kicker, they alerted Temple's Al Golden that McManus was available and he snatched him up. McManus went on to set a school record of 338 points and he once kicked four straight game-winning field goals.

He went undrafted and landed with the Colts, who already had an established kicker - someone by the name of Adam Vinatieri. Nicknamed "Mr. Clutch" for his two game-winning Super Bowl boots - among many others - Vinatieri helped McManus hone his mental approach and practice habits.

McManus was released and signed after the 2013 season by the New York Giants. They, too, had a veteran kicker in Josh Brown. Before the Giants traded McManus to the Broncos, there was speculation that the Eagles were interested. The Eagles eventually dealt for Cody Parkey on the same day.

"It's a lot of hearsay, but I believe when the Giants were getting ready to cut me that the Eagles, based off my agent, were looking to trade possibly for me," McManus said. "I don't know if there was any blocking going on or they didn't want me to play them twice in the division."

Did McManus, who grew up a fan, wish it were the Eagles rather than the Broncos that got him?

"As much as I love to be in Philly, I know the fans," McManus said, "and for the safety of my family I feel I probably shouldn't have been there."

He was joking. But why would he want to be anywhere else than where he is now - one win away from being a Super Bowl champion?

jmclane@phillynews.com

@Jeff_McLane