Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o has decided to hold off on the NFL money for now. The junior will return to South Bend for his senior season, Te’o announced Sunday night at the Lott IMPACT Trophy banquet.
In midseason he tweeted “Playin for my bros and that’s it!!!!” And this was during the same week Brian Kelly made public comments segregating players he recruited from those recruited by Charlie Weis. So it was widely previously expected that Te’o was gone.
The 6-2, 255-pound Hawaiian was a finalist for the Butkus Award and Lott Trophy in 2011 and earlier this week was named to the Walter Camp All-America second team.
Te’o leads the Irish with 115 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and four and a half sacks. His 311 career tackles rank eighth in Notre Dame history.
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