Manti Te’o reveals why he joined NFL Network

Former Notre Dame Fighting Irish superstar linebacker Manti Te’o is officially the newest member of the Good Morning Football crew.

It was announced earlier in June that the former fighting Irish star was next in line to replace Jason McCourty on the NFL Network show. On Wednesday, Te’o officially made his debut on the show. And to start his tenure with Good Morning Football, the former 2012 unanimous college football all-American shared why he decided to join an NFL Network.

“When you’re in this position, you can either use it to do good, or you can use it to do bad,” stated Te’o. “My parents taught me ever since I was little [to] always do things to do good in this world; always do things to make a positive impact on this world. And I’m not perfect — I have my mistakes. But the whole reason why I’m on this show is number one: I love football. But also, there are so many people that have reached out to me all over all over the world that said; ‘Hey, listen. Your story really impacted me in the way that you have no idea how much it saved me.’ Now, that put a responsibility on me to say, not everybody knows the truth; not everybody saw the documentary. So what good can I do?”

Te’o and streaming giant Netflix released a documentary on Te’o’s struggles during Notre Dame’s run to the BCS national championship game in the 2012 season. The Fighting Irish star linebacker found himself at the center of a media frenzy after it was revealed that his girlfriend, who passed away in September of 2012, didn’t actually exist. To make matters worse, the catfish girlfriend was said to have passed away on the same day as his grandmother.

Te’o struggled to process that entire situation. However, he has since moved on and is happily married. He wants to share that happiness with the rest of the world, which he enjoys on a daily basis in his personal life.

“In order for you to do any type of good, you have to have a voice that people will listen to,” said Te’o. “And what a great opportunity that the NFL Network has given me to be on camera with my NFL Network family, the good morning football family, where I can add some value and also have value added to me and grow my family. So I’m just here to spread as much positivity as I can [and] to bring good energy… I’m gonna bring that aloha spirit.”

Te’o has had plenty of ups and downs in his life, and as he pointed out, he is not perfect. However, he is an inspiration to some and now lives a happy life. His goal now is to share that happiness and hopefully bring positivity to others as a member of the Good Morning Football family.