#5 Manti Te'o 2011-12 Football Roster

Awards Candidate Page | Career Photo Gallery

2012 (Senior): Face of the program for his leadership both on and off the field … selected as a team captain for the 2012 season and started all 13 games … led the team with 113 tackles (55 solo, 58 assisted) and seven interceptions, which he returned for 35 yards … seven interceptions was tied for second in country and has most interceptions for a linebacker in a single season since 2001 … also had two fumble recoveries, 1.5 sacks and four pass breakups … named the Lott IMPACT Player of the Week three times during season … honors came after wins over No. 10 Michigan State, No. 10 Michigan and No. 17 Stanford … started off the season with eight tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery against Navy (Sept. 1) … once stateside, logged 10 tackles against Purdue (Sept. 8) … went on the road against No. 10 Michigan State (Sept. 15) and recorded a season-high 12 tackles (seven solo) and recovered a fumble … had career game against No. 18 Michigan, notching eight tackles and intercepting a career-high two passes, returning one for 28 yards in a 13-6 win over the rival Wolverines … after the bye week had 10 tackles against Miami (Oct. 6), with eight of the 10 being solo stops … against eventual PAC-12 champion and No. 17 Stanford (Oct. 13), had 11 tackles and was a crucial component in the overtime goal-line stand … continued to impress against BYU (Oct. 20) and Oklahoma (Oct. 27), notching six solo tackles in each game … returned an interception for seven yards against the Cougars and ended up with 10 total tackles … against the No. 8 Sooners had 11 tackles, a sack and an interception that helped seal the victory … notched seven tackles and a half sack against Pittsburgh (Nov. 3), including five tackles and a half sack in the fourth quarter and overtime … tallied five tackles and an interception against Boston College (Nov. 10) … logged six more tackles in the Senior Day game against Wake Forest (Nov. 17) … went on the road to end the regular season at USC (Nov. 24) and was credited with five tackles, three of which were solo, and an interception to help secure Notre Dame’s trip to the BCS Championship game … registered 10 tackles and a pass breakup in the BCS title game agfainst Alabama.

2011 (JUNIOR): All-America linebacker who started all 13 games at inside linebacker, tallying 128 tackles with 13.5 tackles for loss … selected second-team All-American by Associated Press, Walter Camp Football Foundation, SI.com, Rivals.com and Phil Steele … chosen to Capital One Academic All-America Second Team and recipient of Notre Dame’s Rockne Student-Athlete of the Year … named finalist for some of college football’s most prestegious awards including the Lott and Butkus Awards after being named to numerous preseason awards lists and All-America scrolls … semifinalist for the Bednarik, Butkus and Lombardi Awards and was a quarterfinalist for the Lott Trophy all at the same time, making him one of only three players in the country to be on all four lists … placed on the Phil Steele Midseason All-America First Team … notched double-digit tackles in nine games … led team in tackles nine times … had at least one tackle for loss in seven games … became only 10th Irish player to register 300 tackles for career at Stanford … recorded 14 tackles and a sack against USF … had 12 tackles against Michigan State … tallied 10 tackles and a sack at Pittsburgh … produced eight tackles, including a sack and a career-high three tackles for loss, in victory at Purdue … named FBS Independent Defensive Player of the Week following game against the Boilermakers … recorded 12 tackles, including two and a half for loss, and a pass breakup in victory over Air Force … had productive game against Navy (Oct. 29), tallying 13 tackles, including two and a half for loss, and one-half sack … named College Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention Linebacker and FBS Independent Defensive Player of the Week following game against the Midshipman … tallied 12 tackles, including one-half tackle for loss, in win vs. Boston College … named FBS Independent Defensive Player of the Week following game against the Eagles … tallied 13 tackles and assisted on a sack in the Champs Sports Bowl against Florida State.

2010 (SOPHOMORE): Saw action in all 13 games in 2010 … one of 11 players to start all 13 games for the Irish that season … joined LB Darius Fleming, CB Gary Gray, DE Kapron Lewis-Moore, DE Ethan Johnson, S Harrison Smith and CB Darrin Walls as the only players on the defensive side of the ball to start all 13 games … totaled 133 tackles, including nine and a half tackles for loss (34 yards), one sack (seven yards), one forced fumble and two pass breakups … led the Irish in total tackles (133), tackles on running plays (95), tackles on passing plays (35, tied), solo tackles (66) and assisted tackles (67) … also ranked second on the team in tackles for loss (9.5) … nearly became the first Notre Dame defender to eclipse 100 total tackles and lead the team in tackles for loss since Melvin Dansby in 1997 … nearly became the first Irish defender to lead the team in total tackles and tackles for loss since Brandon Hoyte in 2005 … ranked t-18th in the FBS in tackles per game (10.23), 12th in total tackles (133), tied for 17th in assisted tackles (67) and tied for 29th in solo stops (66) … eclipsed 10 or more tackles in seven different games (Michigan, 13; Michigan State, 11; Stanford, 21; Boston College, 10; Western Michigan, 10; Navy, 13; Army, 12) … only failed to reach double digits in tackles in six games (Purdue, Pittsburgh, Tulsa, Utah, USC and Miami) … added one tackle for loss, forced a fumble and registered a pass breakup against the Wolverines … recorded two and a half tackles for loss for a total of 15 yards in the overtime defeat against the Spartans … registered at least one tackle for loss in seven of Notre Dame’s 13 games, including five consecutive games (Western Michigan, Navy, Tulsa, Utah and Army) … finished with nine tackles against the Black Knights, nine tackles against the Boilermakers, nine tackles against the Utes, eight versus the Golden Hurricane and six against the Trojans and Hurricanes (missed most of the second half with an injury) … his 133 tackles in 2010 finished just outside the top 10 in single-season school history … the 133 tackles were the most by an Irish player since Tony Furjanic made 147 in 1983 … his 133 tackles rank as the third most ever by a Notre Dame sophomore … Bob Crable’s school record total of 187 in 1979 and Furjanic’s total of 142 in 1983 came during each of their second year in an Irish uniform … established a career high in tackles with 21 against Stanford … first player in the FBS in 2010 to eclipse the 20-tackle barrier … no player in the FBS had had more tackles in one game against a BCS conference foe since Durell Mapp of North Carolina had 23 stops against North Carolina State on Nov. 10, 2007 … most tackles by a sophomore against a BCS opponent since Austin Thomas of Indiana had 22 against Michigan State on Oct. 13, 2007 (Luke Kuechly of Boston College equaled total of 21 on Nov. 13, 2010 against Duke) … most tackles by a Notre Dame player since Chinedum Ndukwe had 22 in a victory over Air Force on Nov. 11, 2006 … the 21 tackles against Stanford not only rank as the sixth-most in single-game school history, but also the second-most ever by an Irish sophomore … Crable was a sophomore when he tied the school record with 26 stops against Clemson on Nov. 17, 1979 … totaled 824 snaps on defense, the most of any Irish player.

2009 (FRESHMAN): Linebacker appeared in all 12 games as rookie, while starting 10 … finished season with 63 total tackles, ranking fourth on team and third most for any freshman in program history … became full-time starter in fifth game of season against Washington and recorded 57 tackles over last eight games, second most on team … added five and a half tackles for loss, one sack and one pass breakup in first season … recorded two solo tackles in his Irish debut against Nevada including tackle on first career play in Irish uniform … recorded only sack of season against Purdue with 16 seconds left in contest to help secure Notre Dame’s 24-21 win over Boilermakers … totaled 10 tackles in first game as full-time starter against Washington … tied for team-high honors with eight tackles against USC … paced Irish with nine tackles against Boston College including season-best two and a half tackles for loss and one pass breakup … recorded season-high seven solo tackles in final home game against Connecticut … matched season high with 10 tackles in season finale against Stanford … totaled 238:28 of playing time and made 63 special-teams appearances.

HIGH SCHOOL AND PERSONAL DATA: Selected to play in 2009 Under Armour All-American game in Orlando … participated in Hawaii Prep Football Classic, which featured an all-star team from U.S. mainland against an all-star team from Hawaii … named 2008 High School Athlete of the Year by Sporting News … selected as defensive player of the year by USA Today … became inaugural high school recipient of the Butkus Award, given to the best linebacker in the country … two-time recipient of Hawaii Gatorade Player-of-the-Year award in 2007 and 2008 … Sporting News rated him the top defensive player in the nation and second-best player in the country … rated second-best overall prospect in the ESPNU150 and best linebacker according to ESPN … ranked fifth nationally in SI/TAKKLE Top 200 for 2008 … rated third in 2009 Athlon Consensus 100 … ranked sixth nationally by Scout.com and its top linebacker prospect … Rivals.com ranked him as 12th-best overall player nationally and second-best inside linebacker … rated as the best player in Hawaii according to Rivals.com’s postseason state rankings … listed seventh nationally in Chicago Sun-Times rating of top 100 players … Tom Lemming of CBS College Sports rated him as 12th-best all around player in his Top 100 … named to SuperPrep Elite 50 squad as 12th-best overall player and made SuperPrep All-America team as second-best linebacker in the county … also named SuperPrep Farwest Defensive Player of the Year … named top overall prospect in the Offense-Defense 100 … top vote-getter among defensive players in Long Beach Press-Telegram’s 2009 Best in the West team … selected to Western 100 in 2008 by Tacoma News Tribune … named to 2008 MaxPreps All-America first-team defense as a senior … named 2007 defensive player of the year and first-team all-state linebacker by Honolulu Star-Bulletin … received first-team all-state and conference defensive player of the year honors as junior and senior by Honolulu Advertiser … as sophomore named 2006 second-team all-state linebacker by both Honolulu Advertiser and Honolulu Star-Bulletin as well as first-team all-conference … registered 129 tackles, 11 sacks, three forced fumbles, three interceptions, one which he returned for a touchdown and a blocked punt that he scored a touchdown on during his senior campaign … helped Punahou High School team capture its first ever state championship by racking up eight tackles, two sacks, three tackles for loss, and a forced fumble in title game en route to 38-7 victory … recorded 90 tackles and five sacks as junior in 2007 … named an Eagle Scout in 2008 and volunteers his time at Hawaii Special Olympics and Head Start Preschool program … graduated from President Barack Obama’s high school … high school teammate of Irish wide receiver Robby Toma … played for head coach Kale Ane at Punahou School … full name is Manti Malietau Louis Te’o … son of Ottilia and Brian Te’o … enrolled in College of Arts and Letters as a design major … boasts a cumulative grade-point average of 3.296.

Te’o’s Career Statistics