Manti Te'o, the most famous player in the 2013 NFL draft pool for off-field reasons as well as on, may have hurt his draft stock at this week's Combine when he ran a pair of underwhelming 40-yard dash times. On his first attempt he clocked a 4.80 and then a 4.81 after that. Te'o told NFL.com that he had previously been hitting 4.46 in the dash.
Those times are disappointing for the middle linebacker because his position demands the ability to cover running backs and tight ends in the passing game. According to NFL.com, 12 defensive lineman ran 4.81 or faster in their 40-yard dashes while two 300-plus pound offensive linemen were faster than Te'o. He also measured 6'1, 241 lbs., which was significantly smaller than the 6'2, 255 lbs. Notre Dame had him listed at, and he was unable to bench press at the Combine due to a stinger in his shoulder. Te'o also struggled mightily in Notre Dame's BCS Championship beat down at the hands of the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Part of his poor Combine performance may be the distraction of constant badgering about his well-publicized "catfishing" story, in which he carried on an online relationship with a cancer-stricken young woman named Lennay Kekua, who had also survived a horrific car crash. Kekua and Te'o's grandmother supposedly died on the same day, and two days later Te'o had a career-defining performance against Michigan State. It was revealed shortly before the title game that Kekua never existed, and Te'o was the victim of an elaborate hoax perpetrated by a man named Ronaiah Tuiasosopo. Since the incident, Te'o has been dogged by rumors that he was a part of the tale, and used it to elevate his status for his Heisman trophy candidacy. There has also been speculation NFL teams would shy away from Te'o to avoid a media circus.
On the field, though, Te'o earned praise and his stature in the college football landscape by racking up 113 tackles (55 solo tackles) and assisting on 58 more. He recorded 1.5 sacks and earned a reputation as a ball hawk with seven interceptions. He will have a chance at redemption at his pro day next month.
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