Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/86484
UNDER THE DOME MANTI MANIA national spotlight by collecting three turn- overs and 20 of his 38 total tackles in back-to- back wins against Mich- igan State and Michigan. His story — playing hasn't been decided yet. Is it "HeisManti" or "MantHeisman"? Either way the hype machine surrounding Notre Dame's star middle linebacker Manti Te'o kicked into full gear during the past several tumultuous weeks. Te'o sparkled in the The campaign name through two painful deaths of loved ones, foregoing first-round NFL riches and helping to revive the Irish de- fense — landed on the cover of Sports Illustrated following the Michigan game. Since then, he has also been profiled by several other national media outlets including USA Today and ESPN's College GameDay. "It's definitely very est media darling is the first to land on the cover of the na- tional weekly sports magazine since Brady Quinn, Travis Thomas and Tommy Zbikowski shared the honor at the start of the 2006 foot- ball season. In total, Notre Dame has been featured on the Sports Illustrated cover 30 times, more than ev- ery other college team except Oklahoma (36). Te'o said he was most excited about the chance to show a copy to his parents when they visit South Bend this week to watch the Irish play Stanford. "I haven't had the exciting, and it was very humbling at the same time," Te'o said. "I'm very grateful for all of the support." Notre Dame's new- chance to actually hold the magazine yet," he said. "But hopefully my parents got theirs. The main thing was that I could show my mom and dad; that was the main thing, the main ex- citement I got out of it; that it was one of those experiences that I can show my parents." The Hawaiian native's most prestigious award. Defensive players rarely receive any consider- ation for the Heisman, normally reserved for the top running back or quarterback on a national powerhouse team. Te'o is currently fourth in the CBS Sports straw poll voting and seventh on ESPN's Heis- man Watch. Opposing coaches have not been shy about putting Te'o in that conversation, and neither was Irish head coach Brian Kelly when asked directly about the possibility. "Heisman Trophy, buzz has been fueled by his rise as a contender for college football's MVP, top collegiate player, we think he fits those categories," Kelly said prior to the Miami game.