New London’s ties to D1 All-American

You may not know it, but New London has ties to the recently announced NCAA All-American football team. And, it has ties to Aggieland. Perhaps, New London can someday call itself, the ‘Home of the 12th Mann'.

Braden Mann is the son of Pam and Jim Mann of Cypress, Texas; a suburban area of Houston. Pam is the former Pam Coberley, a 1986 graduate of New London High School and is the daughter of Ron Coberley and Claudia Coberley. Ron is the former band director at New London High School where he was a teacher for 40 years. Mann's father Jim is originally from Muscatine. On Dec. 7, Mann became the 2018 recipient of the Ray Guy award, given to the nation's best collegiate punter.

'Playing at Texas A & M has been the most amazing, unique experience of my life,” Mann said through an e-mail exchange. 'A huge reason I chose A & M was for the incredible Aggie Network and the 12th Man.”

Mann is a graduate of Cy-Fair High School and was one of the first five commitments of Kevin Sumlin for his class to attend Texas A & M University. Mann has not disappointed Aggie fans in his tenure, breaking an NCAA record for a single game punting average (60.8) with a minimum of five punts attempted, against No. 1 Alabama.

'Running out of the tunnel on a Saturday night in front of 105,000 fans isn't something you can really explain,” Mann said. 'It's something you have to experience first-hand and something I'll never forget.”

The daily routine of any college athlete is hectic and Mann recounted what most days are like for him. He has to wake up at 5:45 a.m. for morning practice prior to his 8 a.m. classes. After lunch, he sits in on position and team meetings before a three-hour practice. After a meal, he studies until he sleeps.

'There's not a whole lot of time to hang out or relax during the day, but that's kind of what you sign up for when you decide to become a student athlete at a major university. We are told to ‘prepare like a pro' and that's what needs to be done to prepare for a successful future.”

The job of a punter is more than just booting it as far as it can go, as he has to pin the opponents as deep as he can to help his defense. And punting is not just a one-person venture as the deep snapper and protection team also have to be at their best. The Aggie special teams performed as good as could be expected this year.

Mann also broke the NCAA record for season punting average in 2018. Mann averaged 51.2 yards a boot on 47 punts and also broke the NCAA record for punts of 60 yards or more in a season (14).

Mann had a season long boot of 83 yards against the Crimson Tide and a season net average of 45 yards. In addition to his punting duties, he was also in charge of holding on field goal attempts and recorded four solo tackles and forced a fumble.

The six-foot junior as received the attention of the media but coaches as well during the year. The accolades for Mann's 2018 season are numerous:

Walter Camp All-American (1st team).

Sports Illustrated All-American (1st team).

PFF All-American (1st team).

Bleacher Report All-American (1st team).

The Athletic All-American (1st team).

ESPN All-American (1st team).

Associated Press All-American (1st team).

Football Writers Association of America All-American (1st team).

College Football News All-American (1st team).

Sporting News All-American (1st team).

CBS Sports All-American (1st team).

American Football Coaches Association All-American (1st team).

The Manns have been to every game for the last three years. Pam says that game day is as stressful to her as any of the participants or coaches.

'Honestly, I'm a nervous wreck during most of the games,” Pam said. 'Jim and I have laughed a lot about the crazy data my fitness tracker records during games. It tracks my heart rate and stress level and it is very evident on the graph when he is punting or kicking off. On one occasion, it went from 58 beats per minute to 146.”

Mann became a national name in recruiting circles by the time he was a sophomore at Cy-

Fair, attending specialist camps all over the country.

'During these camps, you are rated and eventually ranked,” Pam explained. 'By the time he was a sophomore, many football programs began showing interest in him and asked him to attend their university camps.”

But Mann wanted one school to pay particular attention to him. And when Kevin Sumlin offered on the behalf of Texas A & M, he accepted within 24 hours. After years of practice, camps and writing goals for himself on the bathroom mirror, his dream came true.

'It was an offer he couldn't resist,” Pam said.

Mann will graduate with his degree in May of '19, but has already announced that he will not look to fulfill his eligibility with another school. He will be an Aggie for one more year.

Mann and the rest of the Aggies (8-4) have one more game in 2018, on New Year's Eve, as they face North Carolina State at the TaxSlayer Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla.