My favorite Notre Dame football player of all time: Manti Te’o

It’s rare that a defensive player has the sort of impact that Manti Te’o had for Notre Dame football during the 2012 season.

When it came to picking my favorite Notre Dame football player, I was torn between Manti Te’o and Rudy. I decided that Rudy and his story were more symbolic of the Notre Dame spirit. In terms of being entertained by a Notre Dame player based on what he did on the field, I had to go with Te’o.

As a middle linebacker myself in high school, I’m always drawn to the inside linebacker position when watching games. Even if I wasn’t, it would not have been hard to notice Manti Te’o while he was at Notre Dame.

Te’o was the face of the Notre Dame program during most of his time at Notre Dame. That’s a rare accomplishment in a game where the guys who score the points get most of the love.

The fact of the matter is that Te’o had arguably the greatest individual defensive season in college football history during the 2012 campaign. He logged 113 total tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and picked off a mind-boggling seven passes. He was literally everywhere for the Irish on defense, and Notre Dame simply doesn’t get to the national title game without him.

Over the last 25 or so years, only Michigan’s Charles Woodson and Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh had the sort of defensively dominant campaigns that Te’o had. That’s some rare company.

Unfortunately, what happened off the field with Manti Te’o is the first thing that pops into many minds when you start talking about him. That’s sad, because when you put on the tape or pull up his Notre Dame highlights, what he did on the football field was nothing short of magical.

In the eyes of this former linebacker, nobody did it better in South Bend than Manti Te’o.