Arceneaux Brings Experience to Frisco Huddle
July 8, 2021 - Indoor Football League (IFL)
Frisco Fighters News Release
After being paid to pull in spiraling pigskins for over a decade, wide receiver Manny Arceneaux realizes the game is bigger than himself. With an unswerving nature and a persistent work ethic, he's enjoyed a fruitful football experience. But, he wasn't going to let the pandemic close the curtain on his career.
A traveler of sorts, Arceneaux has been a member of five clubs between both the NFL and CFL. Now in his 12th season as a professional, Arceneaux splits out wide for the Fighters. Even with aspirations outside of the sport, he sought one final opportunity.
While not under a helmet and shoulder pads, Arceneaux mentors athletes at Built 4 It Athletics in Prosper, spearheading the growth of the sports performance facility's youth program. It was at that gym where he befriended Frisco's starting signal-caller, Jonathan Bane.
Arceneaux had originally planned on riding into the sunset after last year. However, amid the pandemic, the CFL's 2020 campaign went up in a puff of smoke. Undecided on whether he'd suit up again, the receiver still kept himself busy by working one-on-one against some NFL friends of his.
For months, Bane tried to convince Arceneaux to play for another year. It was only days before the team's training camp opened that the quarterback had finally talked him into giving it a go. Not for the salary or to be the go-to guy, but for the ability to finish out on his own terms.
"I'm able to get that closure I wanted, going out and playing football instead of having an 11-year career that ended to COVID," said Arceneaux.
In letting his teammates know what their own professional journeys may consist of, Arceneaux realizes a bit of irony in being the Fighters' seasoned veteran.
"My journey is the complete opposite of all the guys I'm on the team with," he said. "They started in indoor football, hoping to make it outside and play for a long time. I've played for a long time outside and I'm wrapping things up indoors."
Arceneaux confesses that, at first, he lacked respect for playing indoors. He soon recognized the persistence of those overlooked by larger leagues. At the end of the day, he said, it's about playing the game and-for the younger guys-pinning something to their resume.
"Sitting at home on the couch isn't going to do you any justice," Arceneaux said.
As compared to his previous stops, pass catchers' route concepts are different in the IFL's compressed playing space. Wideouts have to get to where they need to be more quickly than if they were playing under the open sky, he said.
Arceneaux advises that his teammates don't take their current environment for granted. Everything from the players' living conditions to practice formats and rehab, he said, have been put in place in by respectable means. In seeing this-and now having a better understanding of how the IFL game is played-Arceneaux admitted that he could see himself sticking around longer than first expected.
Against Duke City week ten, Arceneaux scored his first two IFL touchdowns, helping the Fighters go 5-0. The six-foot-four, 33-year-old "rookie" hopes to again find the endzone in the team's next matchup against Iowa this Friday.
Indoor Football League Stories from July 8, 2021
- 90's Trivia Night at Mac Shack - Iowa Barnstormers
- Game Watch Party July 9 - Iowa Barnstormers
- Storm Prepare for Rematch against Shock - Sioux Falls Storm
- Arceneaux Brings Experience to Frisco Huddle - Frisco Fighters
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