Much has been made of Manti Te'o since the scandal involving an alleged girlfriend was made public. It was reported NFL teams would press the story with him during the NFL Combine, trying to figure out every detail of what happened. Sources reported that Te'o was asked by multiple teams about his sexual orientation. Now, Te'o is denying that any team asked about his sexual orientation during combine interviews.
"No, I don't think that's a question they asked," Te'o said.
The former Notre Dame linebacker spoke on the issue during a press conference that was held in his honor after being named the Maxwell Award winner as the nation's top football player. These were Te'o's first public comments since reports first surfaced that he was being asked about his sexual orientation. It has been noted that other draft prospects were asked similar questions. Colorado tight end Nick Kasa said he was asked if he liked girls during one of the interview sessions.
Te'o plans to maintain a low profile after the girlfriend scandal took over news outlets. He plans to attempt to steer clear of anymore drama and focus on the upcoming NFL Draft.
"Avoid. Avoid a lot of stuff. I think it's just knowing what you can control and knowing what you can't control. What I can control is making myself the best player, the best person that I can be," Te'o said.
Te'o did not exactly have the best results from the NFL combine. After not performing well during the National Championship game, he needed positive results from the combine to prove his professional talent. He ran a 4.82 in the 40-yard dash which was on the slower end of the linebacker grouping. He looked average in individual workout drills. Te'o addressed a room full of media during the combine for his first public statements since the girlfriend scandal. He believes the media attention distracted him from performing well.
"It's difficult to balance things and to stay as focused on what you got to do. But for me, I'm glad that the combine is done. I've finished that and now I'm focused more on specific things like my 40 and I don't have to worry so much about other things," Te'o said.
Te'o's next time in front of NFL scouts will be at Notre Dame's Pro Day on March 26 where he hopes to perform without any distractions.
