The most talented, high-profile snubs of Round 1 of the NFL Draft Thursday night all found homes Friday, and will be playing with big chips on their shoulder.
Manti Te'o, who took over the sports news cycle for seemingly days on end during the winter due to his tragic story of losing his beloved grandmother and girlfriend just hours apart on the same day being partially untrue.
In a bizarre twist, it was revealed that Te'o had never seen his girlfriend, named Lennay Kekua, and she in fact did not exist. She was the creation of a man named Ronaiah Tuiasosopo who "catfished" Te'o. The scandal, combined with Te'o's underwhelming performance in the BCS National championship and a less than stellar Combine, decreased Te'o's stock dramatically.
He was chosen with the No. 38 pick by the San Diego Chargers, who traded up to acquire the relieved Te'o. Chargers general manager Tom Telesco said, "We did a lot of work on Te'o and I've seen him for a number of years," first-year general manager Tom Telesco said. "He loves football. He's passionate about it. He loves to practice. He loves to play."
One pick later, the New York Jets drafted their quarterback of the future, Geno Smith. Smith was the most highly publicized snub of the 2013 draft because he was the top-ranked quarterback on the majority of expert draft boards. Last season Smith tossed 42 touchdowns and just six interceptions for West Virginia.
New Jets general manager John Idzik said he plans to unleash Smith this training camp and allow him to compete for the starting job. "We drafted Geno Smith because he has exceptional talent. Let's get him into a situation where we can help him develop that and let's see where he goes."
In the third round, the Arizona Cardinals selected troubled but supremely talented cornerback Tyrann Matthieu out of LSU. Matthieu, who unquestionably has first-round talent, was derailed by frequent drug abuse issues in college. He says he has turned his life around and Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians is buying Matthieu's story.
He impressed me so much in my office one on one, knowing at this point in time what he needs to do in his life. I was really taken aback a little bit. He knows what his problems are, he knows what he has done to himself, but he also knows that someone will give him a chance, that he knows what he needs to make sure he succeeds."
© Copyright 2024 Sports World News, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.