He is Manti, Manti Te’o for Heisman

Gazing across his defensive line, Manti Te’o makes eye contact with the opposing quarterback, Landry Jones, sending chills down his spine. Snapping the ball, the center catches a glimpse of the 6’2”, 255 pound-middle-linebacker from the University of Notre Dame clad in his classic, golden helmet and white jersey stitched with a large, navy number five outlined in white. Te’o speeds through the seam, demolishing Oklahoma’s Landry Jones, a crucial sack of eight yards, stopping the drive in its track.

The Qualities of a Heisman Trophy Winner

“The Heisman Memorial Trophy annually recognizes the outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard work. The Heisman Trophy Trust ensures the continuation and integrity of this award.”— Heisman Trust Mission Statement

Pursuit of excellence with integrity, perseverance, humility, and hard work are the some of the many qualities that a Heisman Trophy winner must embody in order to win the prestigious award. Manti Te’o I believe should win the Heisman Trophy because of his embodiment of these certain qualities and leadership coupled with his great statistics.

Perseverance

Manti Te’o has gone through a lot this season in terms of his personal life. The week preceding the Michigan State game, Manti Te’o’s grandmother passed away in his home state of Hawaii. If that wasn’t enough for Te’o to cope with in his life, the next day, his girlfriend passed away. Stricken with two tough deaths within his family, Te’o decided to play in the game against #10 Michigan State. He posted a 12 total tackle game, his highest number of tackles in a single game, leading the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to a 20-3 victory. The heavy heart Te’o played a great fame with far outweighs the perseverance of any other Heisman candidate this season.

Hard Work

Zero interceptions. This stat defines Manti Te’o defensive coverage abilities the first three years of his career at Notre Dame. Te’o the past 3 years was by no means a great pass coverage middle linebacker nevertheless a Heisman candidate. In order to achieve his goals and win a national championship, he had to work on his pass coverage. Work he did and this season it has shown, recording seven interceptions on the season including one against Oklahoma that sealed the win for the Irish in a huge match

Humility

“Without my team, I wouldn’t be a Heisman candidate,” Te’o plainly states. Te’o realizes that his team should be put before himself and that his Heisman run should not overshadow the accomplishments of the whole team. Te’o knows that in order to keep his team together, he must not boast his individual accomplishments but rather, he must put those selfish accomplishments aside and focus on what the team wants to accomplish, the goal of a National Championship.

Pursuit of Excellence with Integrity

Manti Te’o certainly embodies the word integrity unlike another candidate who was arrested after a bar fight during the offseason and was found with two fake ID’s in his possession. *Cough* Johnny “Bar Fight” Manziel *Cough*. Te’o never displays any flaws what so ever. Playing for a university that believes in the success of the student-athlete off the field before the success on the field, Manti Te’o has achieved a GPA of 3.3 at the prestigious University of Notre Dame, a university with stellar athletics coupled with the highest graduation rate among college football programs, with an astounding 99%.

Statistics

Let me preface the discussion of statistics with my belief that statistics mean nothing without these characteristics mentioned previously in this article as the description of a Heisman Trophy winner, as the profile of a winner focuses more on the characteristics of the winner rather than the statistics. Don’t get me wrong, I believe that stats are important, but I feel that in order to win the trophy you must be a leader who plays a big role in the success of their team.

Stats from ESPN:

Interceptions

Interceptions indicate the ability of a player to change the outcome of close games. Te’o certainly possesses this ability making 6 out of 7 of his interceptions in close or big games. This exhibits that Te’o doesn’t make his interceptions in blow out games, but rather in games in which he must perform to the best of his ability in order to lead his team onward to victory.

Te’o vs. Charles Woodson

Charles Woodson, a corner-back, won the award in 1997 with 8 interceptions compared to Te’o’s 7 interceptions this year. Seven interceptions from a middle linebacker is an unprecedented accomplishment that makes Te’o worthy of the Heisman. In a position where interceptions are limited to a couple here or there, Manti Te’o blows all other Heisman candidates out of the water when it comes to impact on the game. Te’o’s interceptions change the momentum of the game, giving the offense great field position, as well as taking confidence away from the opposing play callers.

#1 Defense in the Country Factor

Te’o leads the number one defense in the country, ranking number 1 in points against, allowing a minuscule 10.3 points per game. Te’o not only puts up unbelievable stats but he leads by example guiding his fellow teammates in practice and sets the tone for the defense by the way he plays the game, tough. He makes everyone around him better because they all see the passion Te’o puts into the way he plays the game.

Undefeated and National Championship Berth Factor

Te’o has led his team to a #1 BCS ranking and the first national championship appearance for the Irish since 1988. The Irish are undefeated due to the play of the defense, which as previously stated is the #1 defense. Even Te’o admits that “If we weren’t 12-0, I wouldn’t be a Heisman candidate,” realizing the impact the 12-0 record and chance for a national championship plays into the decision. 8 of the past 12 Heisman Trophy winners have played in the national championship, showing the amount the fact that Notre Dame is playing in the National Championship factors into the decision of Heisman.

Review

In conclusion, Manti Te’o due to his pursuit of excellence with integrity, perseverance, humility, and hard work coupled with his game changing ability embodies what a Heisman Trophy winner should be modeled after and consequently should win the Heisman.