
The only conversion
Manti Te'o will help facilitate next autumn is from a 4-3 to a 3-4.
Domers who prayed to Deo (Latin ablative form of deus, or "God" if our schoolboy Latin holds) that they'd not lose Te'o, at the Grotto have won the Lotto. For the second winter in a row Manti Te'o announced he will play for
Notre Dame next autumn. It never gets old hearing that.
Te'o, the most highly regarded Irish defensive recruit in years, is Mormon. Following the freshman year of college, many male members (and a few females) of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints take off on two-year missions. It's a remarkable sacrifice, an admirable expression of faith. Elders, as these missionaries are called, can be shipped to just about any corner of the globe to serve the LDS church and promote their faith.
That's all fine, but is there any place Te'o is more needed than on Notre Dame's defense?
Last season as a true freshman, and although he did not start full-time until his fifth game, the Hawaiian native finished fourth on the team in tackles with 63. Only two players in Notre Dame history- linebacker Bob Golic and defensive end Ross Browner- had more tackles as freshmen than did Te'o. Golic had 82 tackles in 1975 while Browner had 68 in 1973. Both Golic and Browner would become two-time first-team All-Americans for the Irish. Whether Te'o can emulate that type of success in a few years remains to be seen. Not up for dispute: he is the only defensive player currently on the roster with the type of talent to even dream such lofty dreams.
Six weeks ago Te'o, his parents Brian and Ottilia, and Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis huddled in Weis' corner office on the second floor of the Guglielmino Athletic Complex. This was in November, just a couple of nights before the Fighting Irish were to host
Connecticut in the home finale.
A year ago nearly to the day Te'o, then a senior at the Punahou School in Hawaii, had met with Weis in this same office. Then the issue had been whether to come to Notre Dame the following season. Now the question was whether to remain at Notre Dame the following season, or whether to go on a two-year Mormon mission.
The buzzards were already circling over Weis's head-the loss to UConn would seal his fate-and the Te'o family wondered whether the imminent dismissal of Weis should factor into their decision as to where Manti would spend the next two years of his life. Whatever was said that night, Weis helped reassure the Te'o clan that his departure should not factor into their decision.
"The coaching change didn't have a factor," Te'o said via press release on the day after Christmas in announcing his decision to remain at Notre Dame for his sophomore season next autumn. "Football wasn't a factor. It was strictly a spiritual thing for me."
Austin Collinsworth (son of NBC broadcaster Cris Collinsworth) may have been the first player to verbally commit to Notre Dame since
Brian Kelly was hired three weeks ago. Manti Te'o is in a sense the second. By keeping Te'o the Irish will be better in 2010 than if they had signed the top recruit in this year's high school class and lost Te'o. They will be better than if Te'o had left and five-star defensive end Chris Martin had signed. Martin, who de-committed after Weis was fired, has since announced his intention to attend Cal.
Think about it. Had Te'o opted to go on his mission, Notre Dame would have headed into 2010 minus its top two offensive players (quarterback
Jimmy Clausen and wide receiver
Golden Tate) and its top two defensive players (safety
Kyle McCarthy, who graduated, and Te'o) from last season. And while Clausen and Tate will certainly be missed, the Irish are much deeper, talented and more potent on offense than they are on defense. Losing Te'o would have been a crippling blow.
Te'o did not start in the season opener versus Nevada last September. Early in the second quarter he was seated on the Notre Dame bench, his legs on the seat and his rear resting atop the backrest, when he was summoned to enter the game. Notre Dame led 14-0.
The 6-foot-2, 244-pound Te'o almost seemed surprised, but he ran onto the field and lined up in an outside right linebacker position. On his very first collegiate play, he rushed the passer, the nimble
Colin Kaepernick, and when he was flushed from the pocket Te'o chased him down for a solo tackle.
So it was all season. Safeties Kyle McCarthy and
Harrison Smith made more tackles, but Te'o's hits had more oomph. In the first half against USC he encountered Trojan quarterback
Matt Barkley along the sideline and Maualuga'd him halfway to Elkhart. It was a tremendous hit. When is the last time the Irish had a linebacker who punished ballcarriers as if he were ... well, on a mission?
"I knew the impact of my decision could have a positive influence on those who follow me and those who watch what I do," Te'o said in his statement. "I always want to have a positive influence on them. I just thought that I was sent to Notre Dame for a purpose and that is a purpose I have to devote to."
And maybe that makes sense. Certainly, Te'o would be serving the Mormon church if he were stationed in some God-forsaken third world precinct the next two seasons. Instead, he will be stationed in South Bend (don't...don't think it), where millions of people will be exposed to the Mormon linebacker who happens to be one of the best players, if not the best, at the nation's most prominent Catholic university. He likely will have a far more profound impact having chosen the path he did.
And, hey, if Te'o happens to rack up 100 tackles and restore some dignity to the Irish defense, few will mind. He is representing a school, after all, that was founded nearly 170 years ago by religious missionaries. In a way Te'o would just be keeping the faith. Even if it happens to be a different faith.