Scouting Report: Manti Te'o LB Notre Dame

Manti Te'o

Height: 6'1
Weight: 248
Position: Inside Linebacker
School: Notre Dame
Year: Senior
Rank:  #1 ILB
Projection:  Late 1st to Early 2nd

Strengths
-Does a great job of shedding blockers
-Good range. Able to track down defenders
-Quick. Gets to where he needs to be.
-Sure Tackler.  Rarely misses tackles.
-Productive (100+ tackles in 2010, 2011 and 2012)
-Scheme flexibility (Can play in 4-3 or 3-4)
-Experience in the 3-4 defense
-Great hands for position.  7 INTs in 2012.
-Tough, physical player
-Can play in a phone booth
-Experienced. Has played a major role since his true freshman year.
-No Injury issues.
-Can contribute on special teams

Weaknesses
-Can be too aggressive and over persue.
-Needs to diagnose plays faster.
-Can be a liability in coverage.
-Can he be a an effective blitzer?

Summary
Manti Te'o is a talented linebacker who is coming off a very impressive senior season.  Te'o was the leader of a Notre Dame defense which finished in the National Title Game and was ranked in the top 5 for most of the season.  Te'o also finished second in the Heisman Race in 2012.  Te'o is very intriguing to NFL teams because he isn't locked into a specific scheme.  He can play in both the 4-3 and the 3-4.  Te'o uses his quickness and good overall range to attack the ball and make plays. Te'o is a sure tackler that rarely misses. His big weakness is how he does dropping into coverage.  He'll struggle to match up with athletic tight ends and may not be able to drop into the deep middle in a Cover 2 scheme.  His strength is coming downhill.  However Te'o is a polished prospect with only a couple of weaknesses.  But it's too bad for Te'o that the biggest news surround him now is about his non-existent girlfriend.  As it looks he wasn't in on it and is mearly a victim of a hoax and being too trusting.  Its too bad because Te'o is a very talented player that is going to have a bright future in the NFL.   As it relates to his NFL Draft stock, this doesn't matter.  Some are saying he'll drop, but he's probably always been a late 1st to early 2nd type of player.  He could go as high as the Giants at 19, but could easily fall into the second round just like Rey Maualuga and James Laurinaitis did in previous years.