WATCH: Emotional Manti Te’o gets rousing ovation from Notre Dame fans

Manti Te’o had one of the most prolific careers of any Notre Dame football player, both on and off the field.

After his time with the Fighting Irish ended with a whimper in a national title game blowout and the drama regarding his personal life, Te’o never got the flowers he deserved at the end. However, that all seems to to be changing, as the general public has a newfound respect for the former Notre Dame linebacker following the release of his Netflix documentary.

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Prior to the Fighting Irish taking on California on Saturday, the program honored Te’o — who was visibly emotional as he received a hero’s welcome from the crowd at Notre Dame Stadium. Check out the awesome video of the moment below.

Manti Te’o getting emotional. pic.twitter.com/stNFgRJqFg

— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) September 17, 2022

If anything can bring Notre Dame some luck in 2022, Manti Te’o returning to campus is a safe bet. After the Fighting Irish linebacker experienced so much winning during his time with the program, he’s hoping to see a victory on Saturday.

Marcus Freeman pregame on how Notre Dame can get first win: ‘We have to execute better when it matters’

Marcus Freeman knows what Notre Dame needs to do if they want to get their first victory of 2022.

Welcoming California to town for their third game of the season, the Fighting Irish are looking for not just their first win, but Freeman’s first as a head coach. Speaking with the NBC crew pregame on the field, Freeman explained what his team must accomplish on Saturday.

“It’s about better execution. That’s what it takes for us to have success,” Freeman said. “If you look at the last couple of games, we didn’t execute as much as we needed too. I don’t know if it’s changes as much as we have to focus on our execution. 

“We have to prepare better, and we have to execute better when it matters.”

Continuing, one of the biggest differences for Notre Dame on Saturday will come at quarterback, with Drew Pyne the freshly-minted starting quarterback following an injury that ended Tyler Buchner‘s season. Luckily, Freeman has immense respect for — and confidence in — Pyne as his starting quarterback.

“What you respect about him is whether he was the starter or the backup, he always prepared to the standard that we set,” stated Freeman. “That shows a lot of respect, somebody who’s going to prepare as the starter no matter if they’re the starter or not. I’m excited for him to get this opportunity.”

An 0-3 start to Marcus Freeman’s first full season as the leader of Notre Dame was far from expected, but the Fighting Irish will be hoping it doesn’t become a reality. The crowd is pumped, the green jerseys look sweet and Notre Dame is ready for their first win of the season — four quarters are between them and finding it.