NFL combine: Can teams trust Manti Te'o?

INDIANAPOLIS -- The most anticipated and attended news conference in the 27-year history of the NFL scouting combine ended with a thank-you.

From Manti Te'o.

Yes, that's right, the Notre Dame linebacker/unwitting participant in a "Catfish" hoax thanked us, his family, his university and all of his supporters for helping him through this uniquely trying time. No hints of anger, bitterness, frustration or annoyance.

How can you not like a guy like that?

If Te'o wanted to convince the public that he's a sincere, grounded young man, he accomplished that objective during a 14 1/2-minute, no-holds-barred Q-and-A on Saturday with about 200 media members who staked out their spots as if positioning themselves for a rock concert (or a free meal).

This was Te'o's first group interview since the bizarre story of his virtual girlfriend came to light in mid-January, and he handled it with aplomb. Of course, the greater challenge is to convince NFL teams that he's the high-character person we all thought he was before Deadspin broke the story that shrouded Te'o in doubt.

"They want to be able to trust their player," Te'o acknowledged. "You don't want to invest in somebody you can't trust. ... I understand where they're coming from."

When he spoke to the media at 2:15 p.m. ET on Saturday, Te'o had met with two teams formally: Green Bay and Houston. He said he had 18 more interviews to go.

Other teams had met with him informally, and every single one had asked about the incident, as you'd expect. The amount of time spent on it varied.

Relatively speaking, what Te'o did -- falling victim to a hoax, then embellishing the story through the media -- was benign. He didn't commit any crimes. He didn't break any laws. He didn't disparage any groups of people.

(Shortly after Te'o spoke, Georgia linebacker Alec Ogletree appeared at the same podium. Maybe one-fourth as many reporters showed up to grill him about his arrest for DUI earlier this month.)

But Te'o's actions generated an unhealthy dose of skepticism among the people who matter most -- his potential employers.

San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh had said earlier in the week that he couldn't trust someone who wasn't truthful. Not that any other coach would cite Judge Judy as his inspiration, as Harbaugh did, but his sentiment was representative of the way the rest of the league's decision-makers feel.

"When you lie in Judge Judy's courtroom, it's over," Harbaugh said. "Your credibility is completely lost. You have no chance of winning that case. So I learned that from her. It's very powerful, and true. Because if somebody does lie to you, how can you ever trust anything they ever say after that?"

Harbaugh then was asked if that made Te'o undraftable. Harbaugh said it wouldn't, perhaps an indication that the incident won't affect Te'o's draft stock as much as some believe, if at all. (Of course, it's easy for Harbaugh to say -- the 49ers are set at inside linebacker.)

The bigger issue for NFL teams might be Te'o's poor performance in the BCS title game against Alabama. After a stellar season in which he was runner-up for the Heisman Trophy, Te'o missed multiple tackles in Notre Dame's lopsided loss. He looked nothing like the first-round pick he was projected to be at the time.

Was Te'o distracted by his chaotic personal life, which few knew about at the time? Or did the Crimson Tide, loaded with NFL-bound players, expose him?

To his credit, Te'o made no excuses Saturday. "That's all on me," he said of his struggles against Alabama.

Unfortunately, the episode hasn't affected only Te'o. He said the toughest moment was receiving a phone call from his sister, who told him their family had to sneak into their house because so many reporters were camped outside. Te'o said he felt frustrated because he couldn't do anything to help them, embarrassed because he had besmirched the family name.

"You treasure your last name," Te'o said. "That's what you hold dear. To see your last name everywhere and know I represented my family and all my cousins and aunties and uncles ..."

Given his family's suffering, no one would blame Te'o if he sued Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, the perpetrator of the hoax. But that's not Te'o.

"That's the worst thing you could do," he said. "Both families are going through chaos."

So what's Te'o's approach? To forgive.

"If you forgive," he said, "you'll get the majority of the blessings."

Te'o can only hope at least one NFL team sees it the same way.

NOTE

USC center Khaled Holmes (Mater Dei High) was unable to work out Saturday after injuring a pectoral muscle during the bench press Friday. However, Holmes said the injury was "just a strain" and that he would be fine. USC's pro day is March 27.

Contact the writer: mlev@ocregister.com

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/50924453/ns/local_news-orange_county_ca/

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