ESPN's Jon Gruden Dismisses Every Concern NFL Scouts Have About Manti Te'o
Te'o's draft stock has slipped because of a slow 40-yard-dash at the NFL Combine, a poor performance against Alabama in the title game, and the whole dead girlfriend hoax story.
But in a segment on ESPN's NFL Live yesterday, Gruden addressed all of those concerns.
He dismissed the slow 40-time when speaking with Te'o:
"You can run faster than that, right? In pads, right? ... You like being doubted a little bit?"
More on the slow 40 time (to the NFL Live host):
"He’s got to run faster. There's no question. The one thing he needs to prove is that he can play every down. He’s got to be comfortable in space against Darren Sproles and Jimmy Graham and some of these Corvettes that we’re seeing in the National Football League today. His Pro Day will be very important to him."
He said the hoax didn't matter:
"I think he's handled it fine. I think it's time to move on. I think Derrick Brooks said it best. Just be self-deprecating, learn laugh at yourself a little bit, put this behind you. It's over now, and it's time to move on."
He said the Alabama game didn't matter:
"I don’t have that much of a concern. I watched Alec Ogletree from Georgia play against Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. I watched [Kevin] Minter from LSU play against Alabama. All of the linebackers got rolled by the Tide if you ask me."
Overall impression:
"You have to have a linebacker that can make quick decisions, be a leader, and also make plays. And that's why we like Manti Te'o at Notre Dame."
Gruden typically comes away very, very impressed in this "QB Camp" segments. But still, it feels like the entire NFL world is trashing Te'o right now, so it's notable that the Monday Night Football analyst is at least in his corner.
Watch the entire segment here: