2013 NFL Draft: Manti Te'o Scouting Report

University of Notre Dame #5

Position: Inside Linebacker

Height/Weight: 6'1/241 lbs.

Age: 22

Drafted By: San Diego Chargers (2^nd Round)

Background:

Manti Te'o has been through a rollercoaster this past season and offseason leading up to the NFL Draft. His life completely changed within the span of a single season. A year ago, Te'o was still deciding whether or not to stay in South Bend and play college football one more year or enter the draft. He chose to stay, and it was a great decision. His senior year, his name blew up all over televisions across the nation after he helped Notre Dame develop an undefeated season. At middle linebacker, he led the defense and the whole team with his passion for the game and his actions on the field. Making 7 interceptions and only missing two tackles the entire season, his name was being called for Heisman candidate. Then, tragedy struck Te'o. Before a game at Michigan State, his 72-year-old grandmother and his girlfriend, who had Leukemia, died within 6 hours of each other. This proved as motivation for him and Te'o was all over the field, racking up 12 total tackles. After the game, he joined a large group of supportive fans and broke down in tears. These events made the nation fall in love with him and sealed his fate as a Heisman candidate. Later, he would lead Notre Dame all the way to the National Championship game against No. 1 Alabama.
This is where everything started to unravel with Te'o. In the spotlight, Notre Dame and Te'o failed to compete against Alabama and were obviously outmatched. They lost 42-14 and he got embarrassed multiple times by the Alabama linemen and runningback, Eddie Lacy. Here, people questioned his ability to play and believed he wouldn't be able to compete in the NFL if he couldn't even come to play in the biggest game of his life. Then, the unthinkable happened. A story on Deadspin.com revealed that Manti's story about losing his girlfriend was a hoax, and, furthermore, his girlfriend never actually existed. This article went viral and forced everyone to search for answers. Te'o revealed in later press conferences and interviews that he never actually met his girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, and they were continuing their relationship through phone calls and online chatting. He said he actually fell in love with this girl online, but was "catfished", which is an online fraud where a person creates a fake account in hopes of engaging in conversation with the victim. Furthermore, this person hopes to create fake "romance" between the victim and themselves. This whole hoax caused his draft stock to fall even further. He was under national scrutiny and became the butt of jokes about his invisible girlfriend. Teams were reluctant to draft him because of the media circus that followed the whole way. Once a first round draft pick, Te'o fell all the way to the second round.

Strengths:

What made Manti an All-American linebacker was his exceptional ability reading plays. Almost every play, he knew what was happening, where he was, and where his opponents were. This is a huge trait for a linebacker because they have to decide between whether the offense is running or passing. Te'o was great at this, which allowed him to get in the backfield so fast or make so many interceptions. One play against USC, he read the quarterback perfectly. The main receiver was running across the field and Te'o saw this player. By reading the receiver's route and the quarterback's eyes, he moved into the correct spot and made a huge interception in a close game. The NFl is a pass-happy league, so finding linebackers who are exceptional in pass coverage is crucial. Also, Te'o is a natural leader. At Notre Dame, he was a respected leader for the whole team. His job was to motivate the team and he made sure the team was fired up before every game. The defense would ride on his passion and emotions and play as hard as they possibly could, especially towards the end of close scoring games. As a leader, he could create momentum for the team by making his big interceptions or big tackles. San Diego had a terrible season last year and could use a player that can motivate the team to perform at their top potential.

Weaknesses:
Te'o is only average sized for an inside linebacker and isn't as athletic as most coaches would like. This lack of athleticism showed when he ran a slow 4.82 40-yard dash. In the NFL, players only get bigger, stronger, and faster. He will have to cover and tackle tight ends that are just a big, if not bigger than him, and runningbacks who are quicker and faster than him. His lack of speed made many question whether he will be able to play all three downs and still compete against elite opponents. Coaches know that athleticism is not a teachable trait, which will surely give him a disadvantage. One example of lack of athleticism was during the championship game. Te'o read the run play from the start and was able to get into the back field before getting blocked, but he was juked out by the runningback and couldn't make the play. This is just an example of times when reading the plays aren't enough to make a play because his opponents are just that athletic, quick, or strong. This will definitely be a challenge in the NFL for Te'o.

Overview:

Te'o has gone through a lot during his senior year all the way through the draft. With the whole fake girlfriend hoax, he has been under a microscope and anything he does will surely be followed by the media. The media has always been a problem for players in the NFL and also causes drama on teams. San Diego is the perfect place for him. Usually, San Diego doesn't receive a lot of attention from the media. Hopefully, Te'o can escape the problems the media may bring and continue to play great football. He has the potential and the smarts to be successful in professional football, but the only setback will be his athleticism. He will have to work hard make the transition from college to the NFL.