Follow the Manti Te'o Story

For those that you do not know Manti Te'o, he is a passionate football player who played for the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish. His natural talent to play the linebacker position has won him a lot of awards and became known as a highly decorated collegiate football player. Manti is originally hailed from Oahu, Hawaii and he also received numerous awards as a high school football player.

Te'o whose nationality is Samoan comes from a family of 7. He has 5 other siblings including 1 brother and four sisters their parents are Brian and Ottilia Te'o. He started playing football for a distinguished private school located in Honolulu, Hawaii - Punahou School. In spite of being a high school sophomore in 2006, he got selected in the second-team all-state roster because of his stellar performance in just his first year of his varsity career. In 2007, Manti won the Honolulu Advertiser state defensive player of the year award during his junior year and the Gatorade state player of the year. Recruiters from different colleges around the nation began to take notice of his superior performance. His greatest feat to date would eventually happen during his senior year at Punahou School.

Sooner than the begin of his 2008-09 senior year, Te'o already received countless scholarship offers from state and national colleges. In actual fact, he was presented football scholarships from more than 30 colleges from around the nation. He did not fail the expectations that were expected of him. Manti was a major player to help his Puns with the 2008 Hawaii Football State Championship. The Honolulu Advertiser even considered Te'o as the overall state player of the year. Because of his high school achievements, Manti Te'o was considered as among the most decorated and greatly recruited players in the entire history of Hawaii. At the end of the season, Te'o decided to play for the University of Notre Dame.

Te'o got to play in his first college game on September 5, 2009. He entered in the second quarter in the game in opposition to Nevada Wolfpacks. He then played his first collegiate start in a game in opposition to Purdue Boilermakers. He was able to make 63 tackles in his freshman year and was named the third-nearly all number tackler completed by a Notre Dame freshman. On December 8, 2009, Te'o was included in the Freshman All-American team by the College Football News. Furthermore, Rivals.com included him in the second-team Freshman All-American in the same year.

During his college sophomore year, he moved to the inside linebacker in the year 2010. This was Manti's ultimate football position. The switch happened by defensive coach Bob Diaco because the Notre Dame football team adopted the 3-4 defensive scheme. Te'o compiled a total of 133 tackles after the implementation of the new defensive scheme along with his natural football skills. His career high of 21 tackles came in a game against Stanford. This record broke the 2006 highest number of tackles done by a Notre Dame player. He was in the running for The Butkus Award and Bednarik Award which are given to the best collegiate defensive player. CNNSI added him in the second-team All-American football team.

In his junior year, Manti repeated his defensive prowess. He racked up a total of 128 tackles in the 2011 season. He became a finalist for the Lott Trophy and Butkus Award for his exceptional accomplishment on the field. He was ultimately famous as the 2011 FBS Independent Defensive Player of the Year. He was again included in the second-team All-American teams by different organizations. By the end of the season, the outstanding collegiate football player Maxwell Award and the Chuck Bednarik Award as the college defensive player of the year was awarded to Manti.

During Manti's senior season, he was able to accumulate 300 career tackles overall and became the team's lead tackler. In addition to tackling, he had the the majority interceptions in the team. Many consider Te'o as among the nearly all decorated defensive players in the entire college history. He was able to include the 2012 Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year Lott Trophy to his portfolio of awards. And to top it all off, Te'o became a very much ranked candidate for the 2012 Heisman Trophy Award. In spite of an unforgettable season with the Fighting Irish and the team's winning attitude, they eventually finished short for the national title against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Manti's love for the game and his team mates has landed him where he is today, no matter what the news is reporting about him. Te'o has proved to the world that he can perform and contribute to any football team. He has led his Fighting Irish to a perfect season and showed great leadership, sportsmanship, and enthusiasm on the field. NFL teams have shown interest in signing him for his excellent performance and leadership skills on the field by which exemplifies a true football player. He is currently training and preparing for the upcoming 2013 NFL draft where is projected to be picked in the early rounds The anticipation & curiousity is building and hovering over the team to be awarding the Manti Te'o jersey and will be the most watched  selection during the NFL draft. The Manti Te'o journey to the NFL will be an epic event, if you've read this far thank you for being be part of it!

On Friday, April 26, 2013, the San Diego Chargers selected Manti Te'o in the 2nd round of the 2013 NFL Draft. After trading two picks to the Arizona Cardinals, the Chargers selected Notre Dame linebacker star Manti Te'o at No. 38 overall. Manti will be wearing jersey number 51.

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