Former Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o to return to campus for Week 3 game against Cal

It’s been a decade since Manti Te’o — and all that followed him — captivated and then pulled the rug out from under college football. Now, the former Notre Dame linebacker will be back on campus in South Bend, joining the Irish on the pregame walk from the Basilica to the stadium.

It will be one of the first times Te’o makes a public appearance at Notre Dame since he graduated and spent several years bouncing around the NFL. He has been mostly out of the public eye since his NFL career fizzled out with the Chicago Bears in 2020.

Manti Te’o will be back on campus this weekend and walk with the team from the Basilica to the stadium before the game against Cal.

— Pete Sampson (@PeteSampson_) September 13, 2022

Te’o and his choice to remain low key are likely the result of all that happened in 2012.

Te’o found himself at the center of a national spotlight in 2012, as Notre Dame went undefeated and Te’o supposedly lost his grandmother and long-distance girlfriend on the same day — Sept. 11, 2012. It was later reported by Deadspin that Te’o’s supposed girlfriend actually did not exist, setting off a months-long saga of further reporting, speculation and innuendo.

In August 2022, a documentary about the ordeal titled “Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist” debuted on Netflix.

Notre Dame will be wearing green jerseys this weekend

Notre Dame is busting out some special uniforms for their Saturday matchup with Cal in South Bend, as the Irish will rock green jerseys with the usual gold pants and helmet. Despite wearing this color combo in the past, the standard look for the Irish has become the navy blue and gold pairing.

The green jerseys are something new head coach Marcus Freeman said the Irish would showcase during his tenure. The look is the same as the green alternates that Notre Dame wore against Florida State in 2018 on Senior Day.

This week we wear green

🆚 California
📅 Saturday, Sept. 17
🕢 2:30 PM ET
📺 NBC#GoIrish pic.twitter.com/lHgyOhtSJD

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) September 12, 2022

Announcing the look, the official Notre Dame football account said “this week we wear green.”