I wouldn't...the guy is beyond weird to make up a relationship, but he's a monster on the field.

From there to here, from here to there, EARL THOMAS is everywhere...

A) He was a non-factor against Alabama

Jumpin Jesus on a pogo stick that's a long article. What's the Cliff Notes version?

So?

He's only a monster against lesser competition. I expect him to have plenty of games in the NFL like he had in the NC.

Not gonna say "I told you so".... but feel free to read back a ways on Manti and my thoughts on him. I liked him as a high schooler, I liked him as a college player. I mentioned "issues", but said I wouldn't get into specifics out of respect for his privacy and not wanting to be a rumor spreader. But I did discuss that he had some situations that were a concern, that his BYU visit was a mess, that coaches told him to go elsewhere, and his cousin went through the same business after coming to school and getting booted.

There is a lot to like about him, but there is a real immaturity that has been evident since day 1. I will go no further. I will just say that this doesn't surprise me, this kind of behavior is par for the course, and it wouldn't be the first time he had pulled a completely moronic stunt for attention that ended up burning him.

Those who called me a "hater" obviously don't understand how the family connections work and how people know stuff, at least to some degree. Manti has always been a superior athlete, and a really super friendly kid. But he's also been known for doing some really super dumb stuff. So... no surprise. It is what it is, and hopefully he grows up one of these days. I thought this year he might have made some leaps in that department. Apparently I was wrong if this story is what I think it is (and I think it is something that I'll leave alone).

What's the point of a post like this? "I know stuff but I'm not gonna say" Why even say you have background knowledge of anything?

I'm not asking for more information, I don't really care. I just don't get the whole "I know but you can't" sort of thing. If you know something, good for you, but why even say publicly that you do?

From there to here, from here to there, EARL THOMAS is everywhere...

What's the point of a post like this? "I know stuff but I'm not gonna say" Why even say you have background knowledge of anything?

I'm not asking for more information, I don't really care. I just don't get the whole "I know but you can't" sort of thing. If you know something, good for you, but why even say publicly that you do?

I know, right?

This is the greatest story ever. It wouldn't fly as a novel, let alone real life.

Lennay Kekua was a Stanford student and Cardinal football fan when the two exchanged glances, handshakes and phone numbers that fateful weekend three seasons ago.

She was gifted in music, multi-lingual, had dreams grounded in reality and the talent to catch up to them.

The plan was for Kekua to spend extensive time with the whole Te'o family when upwards of 40 of them came to South Bend in mid-November for ND's Senior Day date with Wake Forest.

"They started out as just friends," Brian Te'o said. "Every once in a while, she would travel to Hawaii, and that happened to be the time Manti was home, so he would meet with her there. But within the last year, they became a couple.

"And we came to the realization that she could be our daughter-in-law. Sadly, it won't happen now."

About the time Kekua and Manti became a couple, she was injured in an auto accident. There were complications during her recovery. And it was also during her recovery that it was discovered Kekua had leukemia.

"That was just in June," Brian Te'o said. "I remember Manti telling me later she was going to have a bone marrow transplant and, sure enough, that's exactly what happened. From all I knew, she was doing really, really well."

Kekua, who eventually graduated from Stanford, was, in fact, doing so well that she was released from the hospital on Sept. 10. And Brian Te'o was among those congratulating her via telephone.

Less than 48 hours later, at 4 a.m. Hawaii time, Kekua sent a text to Brian and Ottilia, expressing her condolences over the passing of Ottilia's mom, Annette Santiago, just hours before.

Brian awakened three hours later, saw the text, and sent one back. There was no response. A couple of hours later, Manti called his parents, his heart in pieces.

Lennay Kekua had died.