82 Facts About Manti Te'o

Manti Malietau Louis Te'o is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League.

Manti Te'o played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, earning unanimous All-American honors and receiving multiple national awards.

Manti Te'o was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2013 NFL draft and played in the NFL until 2021.

In 2012, Te'o became the victim of a catfishing ruse when Naya Tuiasosopo created a fake online persona named Lennay Kekua with whom Te'o became romantically involved.

Manti Te'o played for Punahou School, a private co-ed institution in Honolulu, where he had attended middle school.

Manti Te'o began his varsity career in 2006 with stellar play that won him selection to the second-team all-state roster as a sophomore.

Manti Te'o received first-team all-state honors while totaling 90 tackles and five sacks on defense and 400 rushing yards and ten touchdowns as a running back.

Manti Te'o drew considerable attention from colleges and recruiters in the process.

Manti Te'o came into his senior year as one of the most celebrated players and recruits both on the state and national levels, landing on a number of national top ten recruiting lists before the start of the season.

Manti Te'o amassed 129 tackles, including 11 sacks, forced three fumbles, tipped four passes and totaled 19 quarterback hurries.

On offense at running back, Manti Te'o rushed for 176 yards and four touchdowns and had three receptions, two for touchdowns.

Manti Te'o had three touchdowns, returning one 49 yards for a touchdown.

Manti Te'o received his second straight Gatorade state player of the year award for his play during the season and was named first-team all-state and the state defensive player of the year for the second straight season.

Manti Te'o was such a force that The Honolulu Advertiser considered just naming him the overall state player of the year.

Manti Te'o is regarded as one of the most highly recruited athletes, both in football and for any sport, in the history of the state of Hawaii.

In 2008, Manti Te'o won the inaugural Butkus Award at the high school level, awarded to the best prep linebacker in the United States.

Manti Te'o was named the 2008 Sporting News High School Athlete of the Year, becoming the first person from the state of Hawaii and the first athlete of Polynesian descent to receive the award.

Manti Te'o is only the third high school player from Hawaii to be named to the USA Today All-American team, after Pat Kesi in 1990 and Jason Ching in 1995.

Manti Te'o was named to the 2009 Parade All-American team as well.

On January 10,2010, Manti Te'o was named the Hawaii State Defensive Player of the Decade by the Honolulu Advertiser.

Manti Te'o was nationally regarded as one of the elite prospects of the class of 2009.

Also listed as five-star recruit, Manti Te'o was ranked as the No 1 strongside linebacker in his class by Scout.

On National Signing Day of 2009, Manti Te'o committed to the University of Notre Dame.

Manti Te'o chose the Fighting Irish, then coached by Charlie Weis, over Brigham Young and Southern California.

Manti Te'o was the first USA Today Defensive Player of the Year to commit to the Irish since Kory Minor in 1995.

Manti Te'o enrolled in the University of Notre Dame, where he played for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team from 2009 to 2012.

Manti Te'o entered his first college game at the start of the second defensive series early in the second quarter versus Nevada on September 5,2009.

On his third snap Manti Te'o tackled Wolf Pack quarterback Colin Kaepernick after an 11-yard gain on third and 15 for his first collegiate tackle.

Manti Te'o played in all 12 games of his freshman season and finished the season with 63 tackles, the third-most tackles ever by a Notre Dame freshman behind Bob Golic and Ross Browner.

On December 8,2009, Manti Te'o was named a Freshman All-American by College Football News.

Manti Te'o was named a second-team Freshman All-American by Rivals.

Manti Te'o led the Fighting Irish in tackles with 133, and was second in tackles for loss with 9.5.

Manti Te'o was named one of 16 semifinalists for both the Butkus Award and the Bednarik Award for top College defensive player.

Manti Te'o led the Fighting Irish in tackles for the second straight season in 2011 with 128.

Manti Te'o led the team in tackles for loss with 13.5 and finished second in sacks with 5.0.

Manti Te'o was a finalist for the Butkus Award and the Lott Trophy and was selected as the 2011 FBS Independent Defensive Player of the Year.

Manti Te'o was named a second-team All-American by the Associated Press, Walter Camp Football Foundation, Rivals.

Manti Te'o was named to the Capital One Academic All-American second-team.

Manti Te'o announced on December 11,2011, that he would return to Notre Dame for his senior season.

Manti Te'o entered his final season as one of 10 players in Notre Dame history to record over 300 career tackles and started the season eighth on the career tackles list for the Fighting Irish.

Manti Te'o ranked third in the nation at 0.58 interceptions per game, and overall only Fresno State safety Phillip Thomas had more, with 8 interceptions that season.

Manti Te'o is one of the most decorated defensive players in college football history.

Manti Te'o won the 2012 Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year Lott Trophy, as well as the Maxwell Award, the Chuck Bednarik Award, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, the Butkus Award, the Lombardi Award, and the Walter Camp Award.

Manti Te'o has 437 total tackles in his four-year career at Notre Dame.

Manti Te'o started in 47 consecutive games, beginning with the fourth game of his freshman season, at that point the longest streak of any linebacker in the country.

Manti Te'o joins Crable as the second player in Notre Dame history to record 100+ tackles in three consecutive seasons.

Manti Te'o decided to return to Notre Dame after the 2011 season despite being projected a late first-round pick for the 2012 NFL draft as early as mid-season of 2011.

In preseason mock drafts from May 2012, Manti Te'o was listed as a late first-rounder for the 2013 NFL draft as well.

Manti Te'o was training at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, in preparation for the NFL Draft.

Manti Te'o attended the NFL Combine under a lot of scrutiny by NFL teams.

Manti Te'o was selected in the second round, 38th overall by the San Diego Chargers, as the second inside linebacker in the draft behind Alec Ogletree.

Manti Te'o was the highest selected Notre Dame linebacker since Demetrius DuBose in 1993, until Jaylon Smith was selected in the 2016 NFL Draft.

On May 9,2013, Manti Te'o signed a four-year contract with the Chargers.

Manti Te'o was the second linebacker of Polynesian descent to play for the Chargers.

Manti Te'o made his NFL debut in a week 4 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.

Manti Te'o finished the game with three tackles as the Chargers won.

Manti Te'o ended the season with 61 tackles and 4 passes defended in 13 games started.

Manti Te'o looked to improve from 2013; however, on September 23,2014, Manti Te'o suffered a fractured foot.

Manti Te'o returned in the middle of the season against the Oakland Raiders.

Manti Te'o finished the season with 61 tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception, and 3 pass deflections.

In 2015, Manti Te'o had 63 tackles, one interception, and one forced fumble.

Manti Te'o missed four games in mid-season due to an ankle injury.

On September 5,2016, Manti Te'o was named one of the Chargers' team captains for the 2016 season.

On March 21,2017, Manti Te'o signed a two-year contract with the New Orleans Saints.

Manti Te'o led the Saints in tackles for loss during the 2017 season.

Manti Te'o was a healthy inactive for all but five games of the 2018 season and was not re-signed when his contract expired.

On October 20,2020, Manti Te'o was signed to the Chicago Bears' practice squad.

Manti Te'o was elevated to the active roster on January 9,2021, for the team's wild card playoff loss against the New Orleans Saints, and reverted to the practice squad after the game.

Manti Te'o was born in Laie, Hawaii, on January 26,1991, of Samoan ancestry.

In high school, Manti Te'o had a 3.52 grade-point average and did volunteer work with the Shriners Hospital, Head Start preschool program, Hawai'i Food Bank and Special Olympics.

Manti Te'o is an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In February 2020, Manti Te'o became engaged to his girlfriend, personal trainer and beauty consultant Jovi Nicole Engbino.

Manti Te'o is a close friend of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, a fellow Samoan NFL player who grew up in Hawaii, and refers to Tagavailoa as his "little brother".

Manti Te'o was a member of Netflix's broadcasting team for the 2024 NFL Christmas day games.

Manti Te'o is a regular commentator on Good Morning Football.

Manti Te'o told many media outlets that both his grandmother and his girlfriend had died on September 12,2012.

Manti Te'o said that his girlfriend, Stanford University student Lennay Kekua, had been injured in a car accident, and was discovered during her treatment to have leukemia.

Manti Te'o did not miss any football games for Notre Dame, saying that he had promised Kekua he would play even if something had happened to her.

Swarbrick said Manti Te'o informed Notre Dame of the hoax on December 26,2012, after receiving a phone call on December 6 from the woman he knew as Kekua, claiming she was still alive.

However, Manti Te'o mentioned Kekua's death in at least four separate interviews in the days following the phone call.

Manti Te'o explained he had lied to his father and others about meeting her in person because he thought he would be seen as "crazy" for having a serious relationship with a woman he had never met in person.

Manti Te'o's experience was the subject of a Netflix documentary, Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn't Exist, which was released in August 2022.