SOUTH BEND, Ind. � Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te�o felt a bit uncomfortable sitting at a table surrounded by TV cameras in the front of the football meeting room Friday, while his freshmen teammates sat in scattered seats accompanied by a much smaller number of reporters.

Te�o would much rather have been one of the boys.
�I�m not fond of excluding myself from everybody and putting myself on a pedestal,� he said.
Being just one of the boys, though, is going to be a challenge for Te�o. As the highest rated defensive recruit to arrive at Notre Dame in years, the Irish faithful are expecting great things from the 6-2, 245-pound linebacker from Laie, Hawaii.
Coach Charlie Weis is doing nothing to lower those expectations.
�I expect to see him on the field in the opener. I don�t think we�ll be seeing him standing on the sideline very long,� Weis said.
Although Te�o felt uncomfortable in front of the cameras, he looked like a veteran as he effortlessly answered question after question.
He�s also well aware of the expectations for him. He grew up in a community on the North Shore of Oahu, referring to his hometown as �like little Texas� because the love of football runs so deep. He went to Punahou School, about 90 minutes away, where President Barack Obama also attended. And he�s eager to show people what Hawaiians can do.
�That we can play a good brand of football,� he said.
He�s already made believers of his coaches and teammates.
�He�s big, he�s fast,� defensive tackle Ethan Johnson said. �He�s an athletic guy and he�s obviously got talent according to the coaches and all the scouts. He�s got a talent that I guess not a whole bunch of people have.�
Defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta said it�s Teo�s football intelligence that sets him apart.
�He knows exactly what we want him to do. The more reps he gets the better he�s going to be,� Tenuta said.
So far that�s been a challenge. Te�o has been unable to go full speed for about a half dozen practices the past week because of an inflamed hamstring in his right thigh. But Teo is still picking the game up mentally, and Weis credits linebacker Scott Smith, a team captain, with doing a good job of tutoring Te�o over the summer.
�He pulled him aside and helped simplify the reads and what we�re doing on the defense, which allowed us by the time we got to training camp for him to have a better understanding of what we�re doing from day one,� Weis said.
Te�o, who brought shorts when he visited South Bend last November, said he was surprised by how hot it�s been the first two weeks or practice, calling it a bit of culture shock. He expects more of a shock when winter arrives.
�It�s football. You have to play in hot or cold,� he said.
Te�o made his campus visit to Notre Dame when the Irish played Syracuse, a blustery day when a bad Orange team scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to beat the Irish 24-23. Some fans threw snowballs at Irish players, and when Te�o left before halftime, many Irish fans were worried it was a bad sign.
Te�o was asked why he didn�t rule out Notre Dame after that visit.
�I didn�t close the door on Notre Dame simply for the fact it�s Notre Dame,� he said. �I feel the tradition here every day. I know that after football the education that I receive here will take me places. That is something you can never close the door on.�
Many Irish fans are eager to find out whether Te�o plans to go on a two-year Mormon mission after the season. Te�o said he hasn�t decided, saying he is constantly talking to his parents and church leaders.
Regardless, Te�o hopes to make an impact at Notre Dame that goes beyond football.
�Everyone will see what you do on a football field. But I think what matters the most is who you are inside. My dad always told me don�t necessarily be a man of success, but be a man of worth,� he said. �So I constantly strive to be a good person all around.�