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Notre Dame Football: 5 players who were robbed of the Heisman Trophy

By Daniel Morrison

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 07: Heisman finalists linebacker Manti Te'o of the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish and quarterback Johnny Manziel for the Texas A&M University Aggies pose with Heisman Memorial Trophy Award at an informal press gathering at the Marriott Marquis Hotel on December 7, 2012 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: Photographer approval needed for all Commercial License requests. (Photo by Kelly Kline/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 07: Heisman finalists linebacker Manti Te'o of the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish and quarterback Johnny Manziel for the Texas A&M University Aggies pose with Heisman Memorial Trophy Award at an informal press gathering at the Marriott Marquis Hotel on December 7, 2012 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: Photographer approval needed for all Commercial License requests. (Photo by Kelly Kline/Getty Images) /
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Notre Dame Football star Manti Te’o (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
Notre Dame Football star Manti Te’o (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /

Notre Dame Football: 5 players who were robbed of the Heisman Trophy

2012: Manti Te’o-LB, 2nd Place

  • 113 Tackles, 5.5 Tackles for Loss, 1.5 sacks, 7 Interceptions

There has been no player more important in the Brian Kelly era than Manti Te’o. Full stop. Te’o, in fact, is the best linebacker in Notre Dame history, though some may argue Bob Crable, if only on the back of his numbers, he was from a different era that contributes to that and Te’o was more important to his team, as well as being a better athlete.

For the 2012 team, he was the heart and soul of a defense that propelled the Irish to an unbeaten regular season and a trip to the BCS National Championship Game.

It was a season that Te’o has played with a heavy heart, due to the loss of his grandmother and girlfriend on the same day, and while the girlfriend aspect of that tragedy turned out to be an infamous hoax, he was still playing with that emotional burden all season long. In that 2012 season, Te’o was elite defending the run and the pass, which saw him intercept seven passes, tied for sixth all-time in a single season for interceptions.

He would be named an All-American, win the Lombardi, Butkus, Walter Camp, Chuck Bednarik, and Maxwell Awards, as well as the Lott and Bronko Nagurski Trophies.

It was an insanely dominant season. Unfortunately for Te’o, a quarterback had caught everyone’s imagination. Johnny Manziel was an exciting magician with the ball and famously went into Bryant-Denny to beat Saban and Alabama. Manziel did have great numbers, but compared to other modern quarterbacks they weren’t mind-blowing. It was just the excitement of how he put them up.

Te’o was the better player, but he was also a defensive player, who are widely ignored by the Heisman voters.

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