Wolverine247 Board

I don't see any LB in the B1G with six INTs? The main reasons Te'o is up for the Heisman is because he is the best player on an undeafeted team and has played great against their toughest opponents. That's what the Heisman is all about.

I with you Clint on Te'o. He should definetly be in the mix for the Heisman in my opinion. Te'o has had a great year. I think a lot of people are letting their hatred for ND show up in their opinion of Te'o.

Just for what it's worth:

Ryan Shazier: 111 tackles, 68 solo, 43 asst, 14.5 TFL, 4 sacks, 3 ff, 1 int, and 1 td
Manti Te’o: 96 tackles, 43 solo, 53 asst, 5.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 0 ff, and 6 int.

He is not on Woodson's level. I just think it wouldn't be fair considering all the stuff Woodson had to do on the field to even be considered for the Heisman, (play offense, defense, AND special teams) compared to Te'o who is just playing defense, and isn't even having a super outstanding season.

Take a look at the top defensive player on any top 10 team in recent years. He will have similar stats and similar impact on the game as Te'o does. Someone mentioned Ryan Shazier, I don't feel he is a heisman candidate at all, but on paper Shazier looks better. Te'o has the interceptions, but some of those are were tipped at the line easy ones. I just use Shazier as an example for why Te'o Heisman talk is kind of absurd.

The media hype has fallen for him just because:

1. It's Notre Dame
2. It's a great story, with everything he's went through this year.

I think a defensive player has to be a return specialist or something in order to be a heisman, they just can't keep up with getting 3 picks a game or 5 sacks, the opportunities just aren't there.