The Muskies took a big step back last season with their performance, but were able to unearth a DB who flashed an exceptional amount of potential, seeing more playing time in his freshman year than anyone else on this list. Mantan recorded 17.5 tackles (13 solo) and 1 TFL. Playing primarily at outside CB, Mantan didn’t see a lot of reps in pass-coverage, but he flashed potential in stopping the run, being able to get by his WRs on blocks using strong hand-fighting skills to gain leverage in the direction of where the ball-carrier is going to get in front of him. Mantan proved capable in containing the outside-run and effective tackling ability. Mantan is bound to receive much more playing time in 2026, which will get a better perspective of how he performs at all the necessary roles needed at the CB position, but so far, he’s been one of their brightest young standouts on the Muskies’ roster.

Mantan played a key role as a freshman on a Class 5A defense in 2025. He contributed 17.5 tackles, 13 of which were solo stops, and recorded a tackle for loss. Mantan flashed upside on offense, as well, picking 18 yards on a pair of carries. There’s not a lot of video evidence of Mantan’s performance available on line. We can ?s=20" rel="nofollow">witness several plays on defense from the fall, however. The first clip shows him coming across the field in crashing down before tackling the ball carrier. He gets off of a block on the outside to take down a runner at the line of scrimmage on Clip 2. Mantan flashes physicality on both plays. He breaks up a red-zone pass across the goal-line on Play 3, and delivers a tackle for loss on a designed quarterback run on the fourth clip. Again, not a ton to go on for film, but there’s enough there to make Mantan one to watch heading into 2026 and beyond.