College Football

Manti Te'o makes emotional return to Notre Dame campus

Updated Sep. 17, 2022 4:53 p.m. ET

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Former Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o made his return to campus on Saturday, addressing Fighting Irish fans ahead of the team's Week 3 matchup against Cal.

It was Te'o's first public appearance on campus in nearly a decade since he was the victim of a publicized catfishing scheme, which involved a fictitious girlfriend.

"There's no place like home," Te'o said when speaking to the Fighting Irish fans. "But I want to make this real clear. It's not about me, it's not about one person, it's about this whole family."

Notre Dame is coming off a 26-21 upset loss to Marshall, which dropped the Fighting Irish to 0-2 on the season. The loss snapped a streak of 42 straight wins against unranked opponents for Notre Dame.

"This team needs all of us," Te'o said. "It's easy to jump on the bandwagon when everything's going right, but what I want to know is, who’s with me? Who's going to jump off that wagon when it ain't rolling right? That's why I'm here."

Te'o was noticeably emotional and holding back tears as he was honored ahead of the game during the pregame presentation to the color guard. He received a roaring cheer from the crowd when his name was announced in front of 80,000-plus fans in attendance. 

Te'o starred at Notre Dame from 2009-12 before an eight-year NFL playing career. He was the recent subject of the Netflix documentary, "Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn't Exist."

The former Irish linebacker said he was pleasantly surprised by the response the documentary received.

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