Manti Te'o press conference at 2013 NFL Combine

Manti Te’o gave his much-awaited combine press-conference. By most accounts he did himself a favor. He faced an intense spotlight and rapid-fire questioning. He seemed calm, forthright and unscripted. If he was faking his way through that, he may have a post-NFL future in politics.

Some “highlights” from the interview…He had already interviewed with the Texans and Packers and has interviews scheduled with 18 other teams. He is not taking legal action against Renaiah Tuiasosopo. One reporter asked Te’o if he was “dating someone in real life.” The toughest part for him was his family having to sneak into their home. When asked why he did not attempt to see his fake dead girlfriend: “We made plans. It just obviously didn’t work out.”

This ordeal cost him the “Notre Dame awesome character guy” bump. We would guess he goes where he would have gone as a top MLB without it, somewhere in the mid to late first round. It would have seemed incredible at the time, but, presuming nothing else emerges, this may be a just a very weird footnote by football time.