APFormer Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o has refused to blame his poor performance during the BCS national title game on the stress resulting from the knowledge that, inevitably, the story of his fake dead girlfriend would be exposed.
On Monday, Te’o blamed his poor performance during the 40-yard dash on the overall stress of the Scouting Combine.
“I was running near a 4.6, a 4.5,” Te’o told NFL Network after officially clocking a 4.82-second 40-yard dash. “Today was just a long, long day.”
Te’o called the Combine a “very exhausting process,” explaining that he got to bed late and got up early, with roughly four hours of sleep per night.
Of course, Te’o experienced plenty of mental stress, too. He met with 20 teams individually, and he endured a packed-house press conference on Saturday.
He promises to have an improved showing at the Notre Dame Pro Day workout. “[People can expect] better numbers,” Te’o said. “[I will be] rested. One day you hit it hard and then you are done.”
Rested or not, Te’o will have even more pressure on him when it’s time to run again.
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This guy is a walking lie machine.
I can still see John Harbaugh shaking his head after that crap 40 time. This isnt anything new Teo. Your slow.
Enough of this guy. He’s like Tebow without any redeeming qualities.
yeah, OK Te’o
This guy is such a douche. He has an excuse for all of his stupid short comings…..bad play in the biggest college game. Poor senior bowl. Slow 40 time. Enjoy you slide in the draft.
Not even his dead girlfriend would believe he could ru a 4.5
He looked quite doughy, to say the least.
Maybe being a little fat was his problem.
This guy just isn’t all there mentally.
Soft as a baby’s bottom.
What everyone saw against Alabama was reality, unlike his girlfriend.
Te’o = Bosworth in Hawaiian
If he can’t handle the stress of the combine…
Well combine stress is the most stress he will ever see….it gets better from here
He shouldn’t be up all night talking to his girlfri…oh wait. This guy has Cowboys/Eagles/Giants written all over him.
I don’t care what he does at the Notre Dame pro day. Every player had the same schedule and same stress of performing well. This, the Alabama game, and the hoax just show that he does not handle high pressure, stressful situations well.
Making a lot of money in front of a lot of fans on national TV as a pro or playing in the Super Bowl are high pressure situations. Sorry, this guy folds like a tent when the pressure is up so I would pass until the 3rd round.
Can this guy do or say anything right? He’s lining himself up to be an undrafted free agent at this point.
Uh oh…..excuses. Signs of No accountability….no bueno.
This guys a joke. I dont think there are many fans (who arent also notre dame fans…) out there who hope their teams draft him.
Seems like a draft risk. Gamble before the third round?
This dude is so full of excuses. I hope he turns into a colossal bust. So sick of hearing his name.
In the NFL you don’t hit it hard one day and you’re done
What a weak excuse.
…and he’s also a hilariously awful liar.
Crappy excuse from a crappy person.
Well that’s ok because the stress level in the NFL is really low. Whew! Close one….
That’s his excuse? Obviously he doesn’t know it yet, but real girlfriends (or boyfriends) bring way more stress than fake girlfriends/boyfriends.
He’s always lying
The emphasis the media and the NFL scouts puts on the 40 is so overstated and ridiculous…as is the importance they place on all the other drills at the combine. These GMs and scouts will nitpick over .5 or 1 second differences in times in shuttle drills then draft LaRon Landry over Adrian Peterson. They comb through 40 times down to the nanosecond then draft Ted Ginn Jr. over Patrick Willis. This stuff gets out of control, and its hilarious how these guys that are the supposed “experts” act like they actually know what they’re doing and there is some secret formula to their draft picks. Let the kid play football and his ability and play will speak for itself
the more I hear from this guy the less I like him… no accountability, and either as gullible as the day is long or a pathological liar.
I’m sure he’s tired, doing all those reps on the bench and all…wait, he didn’t participate in the bench press. FOH!
With the 35th pick in the 2013 NFL draft, the Philadelphia Eagles select…
Manti Te’o. Linebacker, Notre Dame.
And the raucous New York crowd boos what will be the greatest draft steal of the 21st century.
Yeah, Te’o is right. It’s completely not fair that everyone else knows where they’re going to be drafted and he doesn’t. You guys just dont know his struggle and stress!
It didn’t help when he stopped briefly after 25 yards to hug his girlfriend…
“One day you hit it hard and then you are done.”
Thats what she said.
What with the late nights and early mornings, Manti never had a chance to get a rocket up his ass.
His combine times guaranteed him a 2nd round a pick, he opened his mouth upmafterwards and he guaranteed himself a low 2nd round pick. This dude needs to hole up somewhere until draft day to minimize the damage hes sone on his value.
And in the in the first round of the 2013 NFL draft the Washington redskins select… O wait lol in the second round?
Oh that’s right… it was only a long day for you. No one else had to go through the exact same regiment and still get the job done.
wha, wha, wha, Cry baby, cry. This smells like another over-hyped Notre Dame kid who won’t cut it in the NFL. Haven’t we seen all seen this before? I pity the team that spends a first round pick on him.
wow this guy has got to be close to breaking point, his dead cyber girlfriend turns out to be a dude, he becomes the most hated young athlete in america and then he goes and runs a crap 40, i just hope they catch in on camera when he snaps.
Does this guy accept blame for anything or just pass it to others?
I must admit, I was in the camp of maybe this guy could be a steal of the draft. Now, I’m starting to think he’s maybe just not very good.
Because no one else is under stress, right? C’mon MT…your speech was two days ago. You should be sleeping fine now unless you’re worried about more layers to this onion getting peeled…
welcome to the real world manti. not the same as the safe bubble you lived in at dame is it? you wanted everybody to focus on your performance and when they did you again showed you were nothing more than the product of the dame hype machine. no matter what you do at your pro day it’s to late,people now see you for what you are and that is an average player at best who lied and went along with the dame hype trying to win the heisman. thank god that did not happen as the right man clearly won it.
Um, okay, I believe you. (Heavy on the sarcasm there).
I ran a 4,4 on 4 hours of sleep chasing down my daughters boyfriend
Never thought i would respect T.O. more than Te’o
This guy is a clown. The combine stresses you out kid it’s called playing through adversity. You have shown you can’t do it first against bama now against the combine lol. Short slow gullible a liar and can’t handle pressure yeah first round pick all the way
All he had going for him was his dead girlfriend publicity stunt. His 15 minutes of fame was over before it started.
Leave the kid alone
So now he has an imaginary “4.6, a 4.5″ in the 40 to go along with his imaginary girlfriend….
He also had a bad start.
Is he even smart enough to realize how stupid he sounds?
Well there was a whole lot of guys standing around in tights. He was distracted.
Put An Oily male model in a speedo at the finish line, bet he runs a sub 4.0.
What a pain in the butt
His handlers should’ve told them that Tuiasosopo was behind him….or who knows (and not that there is anything wrong with that) in front of him, to get him to run that 40 about .5-.7 seconds faster.
My problem with the media here is that no one has taken the time to get Lennay’s take on any of this.
The worst thing he could have done is make an excuse for his poor showing today. How about “I didn’t do what I wanted today so I’m going to keep working until I achieve the results I’m looking for”
This guy has wasted pick tattooed all over him.
You know it’s bad when ben roethlisberger supporters say you’re a crappy person. I seriously hope his name is a distant memory soon. The fact is that there is far more talent in the draft other than Te’o, and it’s starting to unravel for him.
And just who in their right mind believes anything he says?
If you cant handle the pressure of the combine how can you handle the heat on sundays? This guy keeps digging his hole deeper.
This guy is something else, he’s a lier, I’m already tired of hearing his name in the press.
Thats a terrible excuse. How do you drop from 4.5 to 4.8?
Maybe he can have his girlfriend “relieve” some stress for him
So say the integrity challenged while stealing from their employers while casting their judgements on company time.
Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy….
What really gets me is how many people will believe anything he says, mostly because of the helmet he wore in college.
He’ll be drafted, no matter how slow and stupid he is. The vaunted ND hype machine will con one GM, coach, or owner, and that’s all it takes.
If Manti thinks working out in his undies is stressful, wait until he is expected to diagnose a NFL zone read while shedding a guard like Mike Iupati. That’s stress.
A player who gets stressed out at the combine…just the kind of guy you’d want on the field with the game on the line, right? By the way Te’o, do you realize it’s a 16 game season plus 4 pre-season games, against NFL players? Oh, and everyone is wearing pads…and everyone’s faster than you. Good luck with that.
maybe from eating too much catfish…………..
Not even close to that 4.20 that Leon Sandcastle ran.
As a life long Giants fan, I’d love to see him in San Diego…they make a perfect couple….dysfunctional team with a dysfunctional draftee…anyone reminded of Ryan Leaf??
I think the packers should draft him.
Wasn’t ready for the championship game now the combine. blah blah blah. I will be surprised if he gets picked before the 3rd round. Not worth all the red flags.
The convenient thing for Te’o is that absolutely nobody else at the combine is under any stress at all. So it’s really unfair to compare stressed out Manti Te’o to the 334 other guys who really have no reason at all toe be stressed.
Doubly convenient, is that the NFL is as stress-free a work environment as you can find!
Lay off Teo.
He was carrying Lennay on his shoulders… and still managed a 4.82 second 40.
If that aint impressive, I don’t know what is.
At the media session the first question asked was how do u feel. His response was tired, a negative response, not excited, thrilled, stoked etc…. hes got some issues upstairs its very apparent. Think Vince Young running away from home after being booed.
It’s becoming increasingly hard to be a fan of this guy. Go Irish.
Hmm. Not a good answer.
Te’o has been very smooth when handling the press. This is the first poor response I’ve heard him give…even though it may well be entirely true.
This could be a faux pas up there with LSU’s Montgomery’s revelation that he slacked during games against weaker opponents = not a good thing to let slip boys.
I don’t know what was more uncomfortable, him making the excuse or wearing his spandex while between two dudes like Eisen and Mayock.
He just dealt with Ronaiah Tuiasosopo.
Damn, ANOTHER red flag!! Let’s count them… #1 he gets “tricked” into having a two plus year relationship with another dude. #2 he lied to family and friends about the relationship. #3 he played like crap in the biggest game of his life. #4 he ran a slow e at the combine and blamed it on stress. Did I miss anything? Teams would be a fool to waste a high draft pick on this headcase who is a liar and cracks under pressure
I once tanked a job interview, and told my interviewer that i was over stressed as my excuse. i didn’t get the job…but Manlie Te’o will get drafted and receive millions.. Something is wrong with this cat…I think I would rather him use the excuse that his poor 40 time was that he is gay. At least he would be telling the truth. Dude, wake up!
This shouldn’t be a surprise. You all DID watch the National Championship ::cough:: I mean Alabama Parade Game right? Dude is slow as dirt and has bust written all over him. That’s what happens when you play Pitt 12 times a year.
You people are just idiots – it’s amazing how easily people are led into buying into the narrative the press has created. He is correct in everything that he says – and he will run a better 40 at his schools pro day. If this same comment were said by someone the press is butt kissing we would be saying yeah – it is a long grueling stressful process
Tired of this slanted biased press bs
Maybe he will be successful in the NFL. But I sure hope my team doesn’t find out. At least not before round 5 or 6.
The nfl has officially turned gay if this guy gets a roster spot….
I heard he did a lot better at the imaginary combine
Excuses excuses if he didn’t play at Notre Dame he’d be an undrafted Free Agent hoping to make a team just for special teams
I think I speak for all of packerland when I say….. No thank you….
Can he just go away?
Every time this guy opens his mouth, his career prospects get worse. Why would he publicly state that stress was responsible for his poor performance? Doesn’t he think there are already enough questions about his mental stability? Doesn’t he realize that NFL games are going to be stressful too?
Bet he would’ve run faster if the dude that played the hoax on him were at the finish line.
It seems it was a lot less stressful for a lot of other guys. Weird.
Slow feet were exposed by Alabama. He can’t move. He may play faster with heightened anticipation skills, but those players get drafted on day 2. Gonna have to rent in Hawaii Te’o.
I wonder what the media’s obsession is with ruining this guy’s career? It’s getting old. As if he’s the only player having a bad combine.
Poor kid cannot catch a break. I don’t know if he is reaping what he’s sewed, or if this is just bad dumb luck. I hope he doesn’t squander an opportunity of a lifetime and gets himself together. Lose the public relations coaches, tune out everyone and be yourself. He’s got alot of work to do to improve his image. At this point his portrait is a naive, lying, slow, potentially gay whacko.
No one knows if he is lieing or not. So get off his back. If he run a 4.6 or a 4.5 then we know he is telling the truth. Even if he is lieing, who cares it is not going to hurt his draft stock.
You can’t spell Tebow, without Teo. They both believe imaginary figures love them, they both will be selected in the first round, and they both will be out of the league in 6 years.
Just as long as he isn’t on my team…
So basically “You should still use a 1st round pick on me to play professional football for you even though stress from doing workout drills caused me to run slow”? Okay then…
I don’t want him on my team he is a walking excuse! Get dominated by Alabama stress over my make believe girl. Run slow at the combine to much stress put on me by the media…… if he thinks this is stressful wait until he blows a coverage or gets trucked for a td that losses a game!!!
By this logic Tavon Austin should have ran a 3.5 40 .. Get a grip dude. 300 other guys had the same pressure put on them.. This guys personality shows me everything I need to know about how his NFL future will be.. He’s full of lies and excuses and that doesn’t translate to the NFL . No thank you.
If I want an ILB I’m looking at Kiko Alanso, Kevin Minter, Nico Johnson or Jon Bostic
I’ve lost all respect for him. Every player there is under stress and he is just making excuses for his poor performance. Enough of this clown.
If he can’t handle the stress of the combine, how is he going to handle the stress of playing in a big game? Oh wait, he already showed how he handles the pressure of big games when ND played Alabama. I wish he would just go away, his 15 minutes of fame are up.
Seems like every time the cameras are pointed at him he ends up sliding down another round or two.
At this point he’d do well to just slink off and hide under a rock somewhere until draft day.
C’mon guys, lay off Manti… His girlfriend recently died! I’m sure he’s under a lot of stress…
My word man. Just shut up. Think back to your years of innocence and move on (before this entire football glory driven, “attention and sympathy seeking” circus act began). Ice cream was a very simple, yet glorious treat. NFL teams are looking for a quadruple scoop, rocky road on a waffle cone hand crafted by a blue collared beast with leadership qualities. Not a SOFT-serve raspberry, cherry and Passion fruit swirl in a Dixie cup with sprinkles on top.
He stayed up until 2AM talking to some dude from facebook on the phone, so he was tired.
4.5 and 4.8 are a serious difference. He doesn’t really have a 4.5 physique but anything is possible, if 300 pound Terron Armstead can bust out a 4.7
Hopefully no NFL team will take a chance on him and he will quickly fade into obscurity.
Its easy to bash up this kid. We will never know the truth. I think he will be a decent pro player but not elite. Give this kid a chance. Heck you let Donte Stallworth play after he killed a man. This guy is better.
What a joke. Just go away already
All u haters who don’t want him on ur team…compare the college record AND the combine stats.
Teo is Lofa Tatupu. This guy is going to kill it in the pros for 7-10 years and the idiot press will look like idiot AGASiN.
I can’t help but wonder why his agent isn’t telling him to shut his mouth. A team might have been willing to overlook the whole fake GF issue and there may have been a team that would have been willing to overlook his bad combine, thinking he was a football player and not an athlete but when you say stress got to you, now GMs will be asking if he can handle the everyday stress of the NFL. Each time this guy opens his mouth he loses millions.
Fear that the impending girlfriend scandal story would break at any time before the CG. He turned in a poor performance.
At the combine, the hours and the crush of the media around him (and I’m guessing he was grilled and lied about it in team meetings) is why he says he’s exhausted.
Two examples of stressful situations where he collapsed under pressure. I don’t see how any professional scout still has him going in the first round.
This almost seems like stalking by the media. I hope the kid turns into a superstar just like the way Aaron Rodgers was treated at the draft…
Kid, it’s running..left foot, right foot, repeat. You aren’t dodging boulders, giant saw blades and picking the holy grail from a line up. Stress, please. Signed, Indy
The other few hundred guys had the same schedule and ran good, hell 300 lb O linemen were running faster then you. There’s no way he goes from a 4.8 to a 4.5. I wonder what his excuse will be when he runs another crappy time at his pro day. Haven’t been impressed by this guy at all, and really don’t know how he made it in the Heismen race. He’s had like 4 sacks , and 7 picks in his college career and not many tackles behind the line. I wouldn’t touch this guy even as an undrafted rookie. Not good on the field, and will bring drama to the locker room
The Jets will draft him in the3rd round and Rex will say he will mold him into the ñext great to LB’er
Amazes me this guy gets a harder time than drink drivers, gun carriers & wife beaters
Way to get your priorties right people
I was wrong on Burfict (worse attitude & even worse workout) so im not writing this guy of yet
The combine is the same for everyone so the stress argument is weak. Comment like that only weaken your draft stock.
You’ll deal with distractions as a pro and be forced to perform out of your comfort zone. Deal with it.
Notre Dame had a cupcake schedule, and still got lucky. They should have had 2 losses but that’s why they aren’t in a conference. They clearly did not belong in a championship game, what a waste. I don’t hate gay people, I hate those who make it so obvious.
wasn’t his comment at the press conference that he was here to focus on football and not the hoax? so he goes out and posts a time slower than a half dozen OLs and then states stress got the best of him? I want him no where near my Seahawks.
As for the NFL Network referring to him sliding to 32nd and being drafted by Baltimore to replace Ray? ROFL. I don’t put the world of weight on times and size. Russell Wilson slid to the third round because he was too “short”, but if this guy thinks the combine is STRESSFUL, try filling the shoes of Ray Lewis. good luck Mantei. your gonna need it no matter where you land.
No where does he claim stress as the reason. He described long days, as well as only sleeping 3 or 4 hours a night. Big difference.
I am a ND fan. That said. Teo was badly exposed by the Alabama offensive line. That line was about the size of a Pro line and Teo looked slow and had trouble shedding blockers and making tackles. He is a smart football player and in the right system he may be good. However I would not be looking at him before the third round. I would not waste a top 100 pick on a player that I know will be a project and more than likely headed to special teams. All that other social media BS has no bearing on my football decision. In fact…He handled it well.
Look at you people and you misplaced anger. First, how many of you played major D1 football? How many of you can even run a 40 in under s day? How many of you were invited to the combine? How many of you left the glory days behind when you graduated from high school? I’d venture to say about 99% of you posters. How I know this, guys that can answer yes to the 1st two questions, wouldn’t be posting what you all are. Leave the kid alone, he has done absolutely nothing to anyone but himself and he will need to answer for that. It’s not his fault the media keeps putting him up as front page news.
Now all of you go back to the twitter and Facebook world and keep hiding behind a keyboard so you can make yourselves feel as important as you think you are all.
He’s in collusion with Brady to sandbag and get picked up by the Pats for one last run!
I suspect he hasn’t be doing much since the Bama game, his pro day will be better, but his mental state is a mess. He will need a strong team around him. A shock if he goes before the 3rd round.
We were all catfished by the Notre Dame hype machine over this slug!
Brandon Spikes ran a 5.06 in the 40. But at least he can stop the run.
Bama rolled over T’eo and proved he can’t cover either.
Modern day Oscar Lua. … Exactly.
I hope many of you realize one day how pathetic your trolling is. I think you need TA meetings.
All of that maybe true but you must admit he is cute as a button!
Did he give an excuse for his weight being so much lower than advertised?
Maybe he is another Brian Bosworth, but, I just don’t think so. Aside from the obvious, the kid was intelligent enough to go to Notre Dame. He deserves his shot. I say, though, he is moving to the lower 2nd round, or worse, based on all of this. Let’s see his “40″ at ND workout day. If he can’t do it, then, well….
Human turnstile against Alabama.
Imaginary Girlfriend.
Slow 40 time.
No bench press because of “stinger”.
If any team drafts this guy high, they get what they deserve. Please let it be the Niners or Seahawks.
Go Rams.
Te’o was always being referred to as “a great leader” etc, while at Notre Dame.
Now one can add another attribute: Excuse Maker.
Do leaders lie to their teammates and coaches?
Do leaders make excuses for their failures?
Do leaders strike out in championships?
I hope the Steelers pass on this guy. In fact, I know they will after I think about it.
Don’t worry Manti, we already knew you couldn’t perform under pressure.
We watched the National Championship game.
Te’o just slid to the 2nd round. stay home Te’o wait with your family at home. dont go to the draft and sit in that green room cause you will be there for nothing
has gone from a low first rounder to a low 2nd rounder, maybe even a high 3rd rounder. He’s moving into the “Tebow” zone of bringing this guy on your team brings undo distraction and will have an effect on team building.
Put Tuiasosopo with some flowers at the end of the 40 and he’ll clock a 4.24
All he should have said was “I don’t know what happened, I guarantee I’ll be faster at my pro day”, and walked away.
This guy needs to heed the immortal words of Brian Fantana to Champ Kind: “Take it easy, Champ. Why don’t you sit this next one out, stop talking for a while.”
- His draft stock suffered maybe a little bit with the hoax, but most teams would look past that if we were talking about a Ray Lewis type talent.
- His draft stock really started to sink after the Alabama game. Some teams were probably willing to give him a pass on that if they believed he had just found out about the hoax and was maybe a little rattled.
- The 1st round ship started to leave the harbor without him after that terrible 40 time. It left him behind for good with this excuse.
He’s basically painted himself as completely naive and gullible, with a very fragile state of mind. You’re going to shave a possible 3/10ths of a second off your forty time in a less stressful environment? Sure, Manti.
A 306 lb offensive lineman ran faster than you. Guess the combine wasn’t to stressful for him
Good move blaming your slow time on stress. GM’s will be happy to hear that because there’s absolutely no stress or pressure once you make it to the NFL.
So he admits he isn’t up to the physical challenge? He takes the same reps as everybody else and nobody else said theyccouldn’t handle it.
Late to bed…early to rise…long, stressful days…Do you know who else has had to deal with that Manti? EVERY other player at the Combine.
If only I had told my high school to turn around and not stare at me while I ran my 40, I would’ve been under a lot less pressure. Thus, I would probably be getting ready to get selected #1 overall by Kansas City. But such is life sometimes…
It’s all right, Te’o. In a few years, we’ll all look back at this time in your life and laugh.
I actually liked the way the kid carried himself until this. Watching him at biggest combine press conference getting grilled- he stayed composed. But when you can’t own up to your faults on the field {stress & sleep?} you can put a red flag on his leadership on top of incident.