Manti Te’o

Manti Te'o

Manti Malietau Louis Te’o (born January 26, 1991) is an American football linebacker for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He played college football at Notre Dame, where he was recognized as a consensus All-American, and received eight national awards. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He has also played for the New Orleans Saints.

About Manti Te’o in brief

Summary Manti Te'oManti Malietau Louis Te’o (born January 26, 1991) is an American football linebacker for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He played college football at Notre Dame, where he was recognized as a consensus All-American, and received eight national awards. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He has also played for the New Orleans Saints.Te’o played for Punahou School, a private co-ed institution in Honolulu, Hawaii. In 2008, he won the inaugural Butkus Award at the high school level, awarded to the best prep linebacker in the United States. He is the first person from the state of Hawaii and the first athlete of Polynesian descent to receive the award. In 2010, he was named the Hawaii State Defensive Player of the Decade by the Honolulu Advertiser. He also won the 2008 Sporting News High School Athlete of the Year, becoming the first player from Hawaii to do so. Te’O was nationally regarded as one of the elite prospects of the class of 2009. He chose the Fighting Irish, then coached by Charlie Weis, over Brigham Young and Southern California. On National Signing Day of 2009, Te’o committed to the University of Notre Dame. He made his first start in his first collegiate game versus Nevada on September 5, 2009. On December 8, 2009 he was a Freshman All- American by College Football News. He finished his freshman season with 63 tackles, the third-most tackles ever by a Notre Dame freshman behind Bob Golic and Ross Brown.

On January 10, 2010, Te’e was named a Hawaii State defensive Player of The Decade. He recorded 5 tackles for loss and 1 sack for the Bears in the game against the San Francisco 49ers. In the game, he also had three interceptions, returning one 49 yards for a touchdown, and also returned a blocked punt for a touchdowns. In his first game at the NFL level, he tackled Colin Kaepernick 5 times for 5 yards and a touchdown. On September 14, 2011, he made his third start of the season against the 49ers, but not his first tackle. On October 1, he recorded 5 tackle for 5 loss and a 1-yard gain for the Saints in the first game of the 2014 NFL season. On November 2, he had 5 tackles and a fumble recovery in the Saints’ game versus the Bengals. On the same day he was also named a second-team all-American by college football news site The College Football Network. On Nov. 3, he played in the Notre Dame Fighting Irish’s game versus Purdue and recorded 5.5 tackles for 5 losses and a sack for 1 yard. In November, he started in the Irish’s game versus Michigan State. In December, he finished the season with 13 tackles, including 11 sacks, forced three fumbles, tipped four passes, and totaled 19 quarterback hurries. In January 2012, he became the first Notre Dame linebacker to play in all 12 games of his freshmen season.