Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME HE'S BACK! Manti Te'o will return for Irish in 2012 Brian Hamilton, Te'o met with his parents in California on the eve of the Lott Impact Trophy event, and they spoke for several hours about his future plans. The father, Brian Te'o, had recommended that his son turn pro. "One of the inspiring things he shared with us was what [could] he live with if he decided to go pro?" Brian Te'o told Hamilton. "Can he live with not having the memory of his senior season? Could I be satis- fied with millions and live without the memory? Or can I live without the millions and have the memories? "He goes, 'I can do that. I can live with my career possibly ending at Notre Dame.' … He'll know he gave Notre Dame everything he had. He felt he didn't do that yet. "It was clear to me where his heart Te'o earned second-team All-America honors after leading the Irish with 115 tackles in 2011. BY LOU SOMOGYI I t's uncertain what National Sign- ing Day on Feb. 1, 2012 holds for Notre Dame, but the Irish landed their biggest recruit of 2012 when ju- nior inside linebacker Manti Te'o an- nounced Dec. 11 that he will return for his senior season rather than make himself eligible for the NFL Draft. Te'o was in Newport Beach, Ca- lif., on Dec. 10-11 for the Lott Impact Trophy ceremony in which he was one of four finalists for an honor that recognizes outstanding defensive play, academics (he was selected to the 2011 Capital One Academic All- America second team, as chosen by the College Sports Information Di- rectors of America) and community service. Boston College junior line- backer Luke Kuechly won the hard- ware, but Te'o also made headlines when FoxSports.com correspondent Lisa Horne quoted him, "I feel I'm not done at Notre Dame. I'll be com- ing back to Notre Dame." 8 JANUARY 2012 PHOTO BY AARON SUOZZI Shortly thereafter, the University of Notre Dame confirmed that Te'o, who had filed paperwork for NFL evaluation status and has been pro- jected as a potential first-round se- lection, would be in an Irish uniform in 2012. Despite playing on a bad ankle for about half of the 2011 season, the ju- nior paced the Irish with 115 tack- les, 13 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks during the regular season to earn second-team All-America notice on the Walter Camp team. Te'o is the 10th player in Notre Dame history to record 300 career tackles, and he cur- rently ranks eighth in school history with 311 career stops. As a sophomore, he had 133 tack- les, including 9.5 for lost yardage. He is the first Notre Dame linebacker to have consecutive 100-plus tackle sea- sons at Notre Dame since consensus All-American and first-round pick Bob Crable in 1980 (154) and 1981 (167). According to the Chicago Tribune's was. It wasn't a difficult decision. There was more difficulty in trying to explain to Mom and Dad what he decided. If there was struggle, it was more a distraction, he said. People were telling him you should leave, you should stay — he just felt con- flicted. A lot of people he looked up to [were] telling him to go two differ- ent ways." It is no secret the younger Te'o was upset with head coach Brian Kelly's remarks the week of the Oct. 29 Navy game about the difference in his re- cruits from the previous regime's, but the elder Te'o noted it could not override the desire to be a Notre Dame senior and graduate. "More than anything, he wanted to walk around that stadium one last time, whether it was in pads or in crutches," the father said. "He said he [would] walk and give his final goodbyes. He couldn't see himself declaring for the NFL and not having that opportunity to say goodbye to Notre Dame. "From listening to him … that boy truly loves Notre Dame. Despite all the shenanigans that may have hap- pened in this past season, and some of that pointed directly to him — it didn't matter to him. I was very proud of him for that." BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED