Manti Te'o Returning to Notre Dame Football for 2012 Season

Many college juniors will have to decide between now and the January 15^th deadline about whether or not to declare for the NFL draft. The first decision has come in, and it’s great news for Notre Dame fans.

Junior linebacker Manti Te’o will return to South Bend for his senior season in 2012, as confirmed by his father to multiple media outlets on Sunday evening. Te’o was the team’s leading tackler this season with 115—30 more than any other Irish defender.

While Notre Dame has a number of holes to fill in the secondary with Robert Blanton, Gary Gray and Harrison Smith all set to graduate, the return of Te’o stabilizes a front seven that made major strides in 2011.

Five of the top six on the defensive line will return, with only Ethan Johnson graduating. Three of the four starting linebackers will be back, with Darius Fleming the lone departure.

Te’o was the prize recruit of Charlie Weis’ final class at Notre Dame, a group that included fellow draft candidate Tyler Eifert.

Star tight end Eifert is the only other Irish player who is expected to consider early entry to the NFL draft. He has not discussed a timetable for his decision, but it’s expected to come after Notre Dame’s bowl game against Florida State on January 29^th.

While the team and coaching staff are solely focused on getting their ninth win of the season against the Seminoles, fans often turn the page to the future this time of year, with an increased focus on both recruiting and draft decisions.

Although the Irish did not gain any commitments during a key weekend of visits for the team’s awards show, knowing that their prized inside linebacker will be in South Bend in 2012 is far more important than any current high school recruit.

Brian Kelly admitted to going through a “recruitment” last year to convince Michael Floyd to return for his senior season. Whether or not he implemented a similar tactic with Te’o is unknown, but the team progressed enough in an up-and-down season to convince the Hawaii native that both he and the team could take the next step in 2012.

Despite an 8-4 record that was a disappointment to many fans, the willingness of Te’o to delay his professional career shows that Kelly has the team headed in the right direction. His midseason comments criticizing players that he did not recruit apparently are having no lingering effects.

Bowl games are often tabbed as the first game of the following season. Regardless of the outcome in Orlando, Notre Dame’s 2012 season is already off to a good start.