He's more than just a big man on campus.
Manti Te'o is Notre Dame's Big Kahuna.
The
junior Irish linebacker is the most popular export from paradise since
pineapples and the Elvis Presley Classic, "Blue Hawaii."
Here on the mainland, or any other land, the 6-foot-2, 255-pound Te'o is special.
He's a tackling machine, fueled by skill and precision. Every stop is a clinic, heavy on fundamentals.
Te'o is so good, Notre Dame football fans might be tempted to take him for granted. Opposing offenses certainly won't.
If he's not making 21 tackles, like he did last season against Stanford, Te'o's efforts risk being considered pedestrian.
In
last week's win over Purdue, Te'o had eight tackles. Hardly
eye-popping. But with three tackles for loss, including a sack, his
performance caught the attention of head coach Brian Kelly.
"He
might have had his best game against Purdue," Kelly said. "He was very
detailed. He's never a guy we worry about in terms of how he's going to
play. Sometimes he tries to do too much. I thought that was his most
disciplined game.
"He can recognize things before they happen. That's film study. The really great players have that."
Te'o
had somewhat of a challenge going into the Purdue game. Coaches didn't
hesitate to remind him that last year's season-opener against Purdue may
have been his worst game.
"We
talked about (how bad he played against Purdue last year)," said Irish
defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Bob Diaco. "He had a lot of
opportunity for production that didn't happen."
"I
obviously understand what kind of game I had last year," Te'o said. "It
wasn't the kind of game I want to have. I was just looking to get
better, make sure it didn't happen again."
While
cutting his teeth as a big-time contributor within the Notre Dame
defense last year, Te'o dealt with growing pains. Consistency suffered.
One time he'd lay the wood. The next, he'd whiff.
"We
identified liabilities in every single player," Diaco said. "The
players that are really at the top of their game, it's easy to just
overlook them and focus on ...
"(Te'o)
had things in his scheme that he needed to clean up. In the offseason, I
made a cut-up of plays of just him and gave him an opportunity to watch
it. It made a pretty big impact on him. From that moment, he's made a
concerted effort, not only to do the things that we're working on, but
he takes a lot of time and focuses on his liabilities - angles, foot
action, transition from speed to power. He's basically eradicated that
from his game."
"That
cut-up (Diaco) made, showed me the mistakes I made," Te'o said. "It
started from my angles. I got to see what happened. When you look at it
like that, you can visualize, analyze and correct it. My dad (Brian)
helped me a lot, reminding me of basic tackling fundamentals.
"I'm
still trying to find a balance (in tackling). I'm trying to knock
somebody out every time I hit them. I'm learning, when I'm in space and
it's open-field tackling, it's not necessarily smart to try to take
somebody's head off.
"If
there's an opportunity to take somebody out, I'll take advantage of
that. If it's open-field and I need to get the guy down, I'll get the
guy down."
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