The Curious Case of Manti Te'o

Notre Dame is one of the biggest historic colleges of all time, but they haven't been great over the last few years. That's why this year, the resurgence of Notre Dame, led by their charismatic linebacker Manti Te'o, has been one of the greatest stories of the year. What made it even more compelling was the fact Te'o overcame so much off the field — with his grandmother and girlfriend both dying on the same day in September.

Notre Dame finished the season No. 1 and made it the championship game. Te'o finished second in the Heisman Trophy balloting, and all seemed to be going well in the magical season. Then the Irish got pounded in the title game by Alabama — 42-14 — and Te'o didn't look like himself. Many wondered what happened.

Last week we got the answer — Te'o and his riveting story seemed like something out of a sports movie because it could be — or at the very least a Lifetime movie of the week. Te'o's girlfriend never existed. It was a scandal so ridiculous that it captured everyone's attention. Next came the logical question, was Te'o in on it.

He spoke to ESPN on Friday and did an interview with Katie Couric this week. While he still claims he was scammed — and evidence seems to point to the fact that is probably somewhat true — Te'o admitted that he carried the ruse on for a bit even after realizing he'd been duped. His explanations seem sort of reasonable, but, still, this is a story that keeps getting weirder, keeps dominating headlines, and won't go away any time soon.

Te'o was, arguably, one of the hottest prospects for the NFL draft this year. There is no marquee quarterback, and imposing defensive players are hard to come by. But then the scandal happened, so now it's hard to gauge his worth.

It has been pointed out that, in the past, players with criminal records have been taken high in the draft. One quick example was running back Lawrence Phillips, who assaulted his girlfriend while at Nebraska, and still went No. 6. Of course, Phillips didn't do too well in the NFL, and the scandal followed him and his team his whole career.

Consider, also, Adam "Pacman" Jones, who had a troubled past coming out of college. That scandal stuck to him in the pros, and he never really reformed his behavior. He's still in the league, but he's no where near the star people thought he'd be coming out of college.

So what does that mean for Te'o? Prior to this scandal, he had a great reputation. What he did isn't exactly criminal — and in fact he might be largely a victim in this whole thing. And, of course, none of this takes away from his skill on the field. So why, then, would he have to worry about his draft stock? Well, because NFL teams want great players that can easily slip into roles on the team and help them win. They don't want distractions. No matter how good Te'o is on the field, he will be a media sensation and a distraction. And even the best type of media distraction — like, say, a Tim Tebow — is still viewed as more trouble than its worth for most NFL teams.

So, while Te'o could still have a great career and make big contributions to an NFL team, I wouldn't be surprised to see his draft stock plummet.