During his Saturday press conference, Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o said that every team he’s spoken to has asked him to explain his part in the girlfriend hoax that has become synonymous with his name.
That includes the Texans, who, along with the Packers, were named as two of the 20 teams that have set up formal interviews with Te’o. The meeting with the Texans has already gone down and coach Gary Kubiak confirmed that the team came at him with questions about the incident. Kubiak said that Te’o handled them and the rest of the conversation well enough to leave the coach impressed.
“Everybody wants to check his sincerity and see if you can trust him,” Kubiak said, via John McClain of the Houston Chronicle. “He just said, ‘Here’s my story’ and told us. He answered our questions. He wasn’t defensive. He stood his ground, wasn’t gunshy. Lot of poise. He had it under control. He’s ready to move forward. I was impressed with the young man.”
Te’o seems to have come up with a handle on how to approach questions about his foray into the world of virtual romance. Teams may still find something to dislike about his behavior or decision making or the potential distractions that Te’o now brings to the table, but he’s quieted some concerns on that front. Now he’s just got to iron out any lingering concerns about his play after he and the rest of the Irish got steamrolled by Alabama in the National Championship game.