Manti Te’o: Chargers Teammates Haven’t Teased Me
By Mike Dyce
Rookies routinely get hazed leading up to their first season, some of it requires right of passage chores like carrying pads, some times its playful teasing. So a rookie like Manti Te’o coming off the embarrassing “catfish” scandal would be set up for a miserable summer right?
Not necessarily according to Te’o. NFL Network’s Andrew Siciliano asked Te’o if he’s faced extra scrutiny as a result of the embarrassing scandal..
“No, lucky for me I’m surrounded by guys in San Diego who really care about football and really care about winning, and they really care about people,” said Te’o, who’s in Aurora, Ohio, for this week’s NFL Rookie Symposium. “And for me as a rookie, I just keep my head down and keep working and keep my head in the playbook, so I don’t give them a reason to yell at me or give them a reason to not like me.
“For me, I’m just keeping my head down, do my responsibilities and make sure that I’m working to be the best linebacker I can be.”
His teammates might want to stay off that subject, but I guarantee NFL opponents will take their shots when it comes time for some in-game trash talk. But for an NFL franchise looking to rebound, avoiding a subject that could prevent a rookie from developing might be a smart move.