Canadian football observers thought it could happen, and on Saturday, it did. Towering offensive lineman Giovanni Manu – who was born in Tonga and grew up in Pitt Meadows, B.C. – became the first player from the University of British Columbia ever to be selected in the NFL draft.

The Detroit Lions selected Manu in the fourth round of the draft, using the 126th overall pick on the 6’8″, 350-pound offensive tackle.

Manu arrived on campus at UBC when he was just 16 years old and credits the Thunderbirds coaching staff with helping him grow as a person and develop into an NFL prospect.

“Coach (Blake) Nill, he’s like a father figure to me. And even my positional coach, Dan Dorazio. They’re great guys,” he said in an interview with CTV News earlier this month.

“I cherish the six years that I’ve been here. It’s definitely something I’ll always remember and tell my kids in the future.”

Manu and highly touted teammate Theo Benedet anchored a UBC offensive line that allowed 15 sacks and helped the offence average 6.8 yards per rush last season.

The Thunderbirds reached the Vanier Cup last year, dropping a 16-9 decision to the Montreal Carabins. Still, it was UBC’s first appearance in the Canadian university football championship game since 2015.

Ahead of this weekend’s draft, TSN NFL insider Farhan Lalji told CTV News Manu projected as a mid-to-late-round pick who was likely to start his time in the NFL on a team’s practice squad.

Manu has only played against Canadian competition at the USports level, and Lalji thinks NFL teams will see him as a player-development project.

“But I don’t think it’s going to take long until we see this guy in the National Football League,” Lalji said earlier this month.

“It’s not a question of if, but when.”

On Saturday, Lalji shared a video on social media of the moment Manu found out he had been drafted.

Manu joins a Lions team that came close to its first-ever Super Bowl appearance last season, before a second-half collapse saw them lose the NFC Championship Game to the San Francisco 49ers.

The Lions were one of more than a dozen teams that had expressed interest in Manu at UBC’s pro day or in private meetings with the player.

Manu will be joining at least one other Canadian on Detroit’s roster when training camp begins this summer. Earlier in the off-season, Detroit signed Canadian defensive lineman Mathieu Betts, who was the CFL’s top defensive player last season with the B.C. Lions.

Detroit appears set at tackle with Penei Sewell and Taylor Decker, but looked to improve its overall depth by selecting Manu.

Manu was also listed in eighth spot on the CFL Scouting Bureau’s list.

With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Ben Miljure and The Canadian Press