Confidence most important for Manti Te’o

The San Diego Chargers think they found their linebacker of the future in Notre Dame stand out and Heisman Trophy finalist, Manti Te’o. After a catfishing scandal that rocked the nation, it was suggested that he’d be the victim of taunting and hazing in training camp. That could make for an uncomfortable experience though his teammates have remained relatively quiet on the subject as it fades away with more NFL headlines coming out.

For Te’o though it’s all about having confidence in his abilities. That confidence has allowed him to feel comfortable on the field as he adjusts to the speed in the NFL.

“Having confidence in my ability to play the game,” Te’o said in an interview with Mike Costa and Judson Richards of XTRA Sports 1360 in San Diego. “I think a lot of time a lot of players get caught up in the whole ‘oh my gosh I’m in the NFL’ kind of zone. They forget that if you weren’t good enough you wouldn’t be here and have confidence in your ability to play this game.

“It’s still the same game. When I started playing I was 8 years old, it’s still the same game. Obviously guys are a lot bigger and a lot faster now but it’s still the same reads, techniques, you’ve just go to master those little things.”