Irish LB nearly chose USC

Associated Press

Manti Te’o grew up rooting for Southern California, and when it was time for him to choose a college, he was ready to join the Trojans.

Late in the process, he decided it was best for him to go to Notre Dame.

Choosing South Bend over L.A. turned out to be a good move for both him and the Irish.

Now as one of the nation’s best linebackers, Te’o will lead Notre Dame (4-2) against USC (5-1) on Saturday night in a meeting of two teams who hope to break into the Top 25 with a victory. Te’o said the excitement of playing against the school he almost attended and one he always watched has pretty much disappeared.

“My first two years, I’d say, ‘OK, this is USC, I almost went there.’ I grew up a USC fan. I used to have those kind of emotions mixing in with all the anxiety and excitement,” Te’o said. “But going into this year, I don’t have that feeling anymore. I’m happy to play another game.”

Te’o has 133 tackles last season, the most by an Irish defensive player since Tony Furjanic had 147 in 1983. This season Te’o has 59 total tackles and leads the Irish with four sacks and 81/2 tackles for losses. That’s twice his number of sacks from his first two seasons combined.

“His game is up a level. I’d say that he’s continued to improve,” defensive coordinator Bob Diaco said.