Tag: Manti Te’o

Netflix teases Johnny Manziel documentary

After the success of the Manti Te’o series, it looks like Netflix has Manziel up next. Will his series bring sympathy from viewers like Te’o’s did?

The Cleveland Browns have a lot of stories from their past. Many involve struggles on the field but some transcend the normal to the extraordinary. Hue Jackson’s issues resurfaced this offseason in a variety of ways. WR Josh Gordon is still kicking around the league after a tumultuous start to his career in Cleveland.

One of the bigger stories from a national perspective was the drafting of QB Johnny Manziel and his subsequent career.

I was present in Radio City Music Hall when the Browns selected Manziel. Fans with all different teams’ jerseys on were cheering, chanting and doing Manziel’s signature “money” pose.

Manziel played in five games as a rookie in 2014 and nine games in 2015 and hasn’t played in an NFL game since. The former Heisman Trophy winner only made it two seasons in the league.

An interesting story to tell for sure and it looks like Netflix is up for the task:

Following the hit two-part “Untold” series on Manti Te’o, Netflix is going back to the well to tell the story of a very popular college football player whose story has been told in many ways by others. Manziel will get a chance to tell his “Untold” story for the world to hear.

While Te’o’s brought sympathy for the former Notre Dame linebacker, it will be interesting if Manziel’s can do the same. It is likely to be watched with a critical eye by his detractors while cheered on by those who have supported him, primarily those with Texas A&M roots.

See it: LeBron James shouts out Manti Te’o

Love him or hate him, this is pretty cool from LeBron.

It seems everyone and their mother has tuned into Netflix to check out “Untold: The Girlfriend That Didn’t Exist” in the past week. The two-part documentary details the catfishing of Manti Te’o on a level we were previously unaware. If you’re at all interested in that story, I strongly recommend investing the two hours and taking it in.

It would appear you can add one of the most famous current athletes in the world to those who have seen the documentary: LeBron James gave Te’o a shoutout on Twitter this weekend.

Listen, I’m not the world’s biggest LeBron James fan (that’s Kyle Hamilton), but this is pretty cool to see one of the biggest celebrities in the entire world shout out the former Notre Dame star.

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Manti Te’o responds to reaction to documentary

Hear from Manti himself about the reactions he’s received

It seems everyone and their mother has taken in the [autotag]Manti Te’o[/autotag] recently released on Netflix documentary, “Untold: The Girlfriend that didn’t Exist.”  Now Te’o issued a statement of sorts regarding all of the positive feedback he’s received since the documentary went public.

Te’o took to his personal Instagram account to thank all of the well-wishers and those who offered apologies for things they may have said previously. Here is what Te’o said in full earlier this week.

“I just want to come on here real quick, just to give a heartfelt thank you to everybody that has come through and has shown so much love to me and my family, for your messages, for your comments,” Te’o said in the video. “I’m trying to go through all of them, and it’s been so amazing to me to hear the battles that we’re all facing, the challenges that we’re facing in our lives at this time, and how the documentary has given some of us hope, the extra push just to keep going.”

Te’o seems happy on social media these days as he’s married to a beautiful wife and has a gorgeous young daughter.

To quote Red about his friend Andy in Shawshank Redemption:  “Andy Dufresne (Manti Te’o in this case) – who crawled through a river of —- and came out clean on the other side!”

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Manti Te’o documentary: the world reacts

Have you watched? If so, what are your main takeaways?

You don’t have to be much of a college football fan whatsoever to recall the Manti Te’o catfishing story.  Us being a Notre Dame based website means we’re plenty aware of it and how incredible of a player Te’o was during his time at Notre Dame, but the story of his girlfriend dying and then ultimately not actually ever existing meant it went from a sports story to a national news story.

I don’t think anyone ever forgot about the craziness that was around that story and it never really went away but for almost 10 years now there hasn’t been anything new that we’ve learned about it.  At least until now.

Netflix recently released “Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist,” a two part documentary on the entire story of Te’o, Lennay Kekua, and Naya Tuiasosopo and the catfishing scheme that took place.

The Twitter world reacted to the documentary and we’ll get to that in just a second but I wanted to next share just a couple of my initial takeaways.

NEXT: My initial thoughts after watching the documentary

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Manti Te’o on his new Netflix documentary: ‘I didn’t want it to be my story, I wanted it to be THE story’

Manti Te’o talks about his new Netflix documentary and whether his feelings about anything that happened back in 2012 have changed after seeing the film.

It’s been nearly 10 years since one of the most bizarre and shocking stories in modern sports hit our Twitter feeds, and while we’ve learned more details of the story over the ensuing decade, the tale of Manti Te’o and his girlfriend who turned out to be hoax remains one of the most perplexing stories of the internet age. This week saw the premiere of a new Netflix documentary that aims to clear up some of that confusion. Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist attempts to tell the definitive story of what happened to Te’o and features extensive interviews with nearly every person directly involved in the story. It also reveals for the first time publicly that the person who perpetrated the hoax, known at the time as Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, now identifies as a woman and goes by the name Naya.

FTW spoke with Manti Te’o about the documentary to see how he felt about how accurately it tells the story and whether his feelings about anything that happened back in 2012 have changed after seeing the film.

Manti Te’o thought Giants might select him in Round 1 of 2013 NFL draft

Amid a public catfishing hoax, Manti Te’o believed the New York Giants might take a shot on him in the 2013 NFL draft. They didn’t.

Linebacker Manti Te’o had a historic senior season in 2012, leading Notre Dame to the National Championship Game and falling just short of winning a Heisman Trophy. But that’s not what anyone remembers.

What happened in the immediate aftermath of that season is what lingers in the minds of most.

Te’o was the victim of a catfishing scam long before that term became common use. He was tricked into believing he was dating someone long-distance and later tricked into believing she had died.

That’s the simplified version of the story. Unfortunately, there’s much more to it as outlined in the recent Netflix documentary, Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist.

The gut-wrenching story details Te’o’s life at the time and how the hoax impacted him as both a person and a player. It also breaks down his experience at the 2013 NFL Combine and his slide in the 2013 NFL draft.

As Te’o slipped down the board in Round 1, the New York Giants came up to pick at No. 19 overall. In that moment, he thought that’s where his fall might end.

“I remember going through the draft and I knew that the Giants really liked me but I just wasn’t sure,” Te’o recalled. “They didn’t pick me up and I was like, ‘uh man, I’m not going to get picked.'”

Te’o had reason to believe the Giants might select him. They had held pre-draft visits with him and although they did ask him about the hoax, the interviews primarily focused on football.

Giants great Justin Tuck, also from Notre Dame, visited with Te’o at the time and also publicly signed off on him.

But it wasn’t meant to be. The Giants selected Syracuse offensive lineman Justin Pugh at No. 19. Te’o eventually went to the San Diego Chargers at No. 38 overall (Round 2).

While with the Chargers, Te’o played alongside offensive lineman Rich Ohrnberger, who had a brief cup of coffee with the Giants in 2012.

Te’o would spend eight-plus seasons in the NFL but admits for the first three, he was a shell of his former self. He eventually found his stride with the New Orleans Saints but was never able to dominate at the same level he had in college.

Te’o last played in 2020-2021 as a member of the Chicago Bears.

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Four Notre Dame linemen named to Lombardi Award watch list

The Lombardi Award has quite the interesting recent history.

The Lombardi Award has quite the interesting recent history. Given to the college football lineman who best embodies the late great Vince Lombardi, the award’s eligibility was expanded to all positions from 2017 to 2020. The award reverted to its original eligibility in 2021, and Notre Dame is benefiting from that in 2022. That’s because four Irish players have been named to the watch list for the award.

Not only is the winner the best player at his position, but he also best reflects Lombardi’s character. The Irish undoubtedly are happy that they will go into the season with four chances to net the sixth Lombardi Award in program history. [autotag]Manti Te’o[/autotag] was the Irish’s last winner in 2012, so they definitely are overdue for another one.

The award can be presented to a lineman on either side of the ball, and since tight ends also can be blockers, they are eligible for the award, too. Keep that in mind as we look at the Irish players on the list:

Two Notre Dame defensive players make preseason award watch lists

Watch out for these two players on defense this year.

The preseason award watch lists continue to come out, and Notre Dame continues to be represented. We recently saw numerous Irish players on the offensive side of the ball be named. Now, we’re seeing the defense get its turn. So far, we know that two defenders have been deemed players to watch.

[autotag]JD Bertrand[/autotag]’s 102 tackles led the Irish last season. Now, he’s a contender for the Butkus Award, which is given to the country’s top linebacker. The Irish are developing quite the reputation for winning this award as they have done so three times, all during the past decade: [autotag]Manti Te’o[/autotag] in 2012, [autotag]Jaylon Smith[/autotag] in 2015 and [autotag]Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah[/autotag] in 2020.

[autotag]Brandon Joseph[/autotag] comes to the Irish after three years with Northwestern, and there already are high expectations for him. The 2020 All-American is on the watch list for the Jim Thorpe Award, which is awarded to college football’s best defensive back. He would be the first to win this award for the Irish.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer makes Maxwell Award watch list

Think he has a shot?

[autotag]Michael Mayer[/autotag] was one of the go-to receiving options for Notre Dame in 2021. There is reason to believe he will be just as good, if not better, in 2022. Therefore, it only made sense for him to make the Maxwell Award watch list. The award, which goes to the best player in college football, has been given to a Notre Dame player seven times, most recently [autotag]Manti Te’o[/autotag] in 2012.

During his sophomore season in 2021, Mayer’s 71 receptions were an Irish record for a tight end. He also set program records for yards (840) and touchdowns (seven) by a tight end. He averaged 70.0 yards to lead the Irish in receiving yards a game. All of this led him to being named Third Team All-American.

The Irish are scheduled to face 12 players who also have been named to the watch list in 2022, including three in their season opener at Ohio State and two in the finale at USC.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89