Former Notre Dame star LB Manti Te'o opens up on NFL struggles and life after football

Notre Dame legend Manti Te'o appeared on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Thursday to discuss his struggles in transitioning to the NFL after an electric four-year college football run with the Fighting Irish.

Te'o donned the navy blue and gold colors at South Bend from 2009 to 2012, accumulating 437 tackles and 8.5 sacks. The linebacker was a consensus All-American, received eight national awards and earned a spot as a Heisman Trophy finalist in his senior season, where Te'o corralled seven interceptions and led the Irish to a 12-0 regular-season record.

The college football star was selected in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft, 38th overall, by the then-San Diego Chargers. But he never found a rhythm as a professional linebacker due to the mental repercussions of a catfishing scandal that was documented in Netflix's "Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn't Exist."

"The way I played with the Chargers my first three years, I didn't play good football at all," Te'o told McAfee. "It was totally different than the player everyone saw at Notre Dame. ... I was in no shape mentally and emotionally to play in the NFL."

Te'o spent an injury-riddled four years with the Chargers, suffering from a fractured foot, ankle injury and torn Achilles in his final three seasons, respectively. In 2017, the former Notre Dame star signed with the New Orleans Saints and led the team in tackles for loss during the season before finishing his NFL career on the Chicago Bears' practice squad in 2020.

"I was able to play eight years and finish my career with coach Chuck Pagano in Chicago," Te'o said. "That's all she wrote for me in the NFL. Do I wish I was still playing? Yes. Do I think I could have played better? Yes."

Despite his short-term NFL career, Te'o has focused on staying healthy and in shape outside of football. The Heisman finalist discussed how he cut down to 238 pounds — his weight during his time in the NFL — prompting the former punter to jokingly compare the Hawaiian to WWE star Roman Reigns.

"I was 295 [pounds] at New Year's," Te'o said. "My goal was to get back to my playing weight, and just last week, I hit it."

Manti Te'o, who ranks third all-time in Notre Dame history in tackles behind Bob Crable and Bob Golic, will forever be remembered for his time with Notre Dame. He put on stunning performances weekly in front of a raucous Notre Dame Stadium crowd and led the Irish to the national championship game in his senior season.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Former Notre Dame star LB Manti Te'o opens up on NFL struggles