In a beyond-remarkable season
in which not much seemed to elude him, Te‘o, the Laie native, finished
second in voting announced tonight at the Heisman Trophy presentation on
ESPN.
"I definitely thought I could win and (the people who gave me) over 1,000 points thought the same thing," Te‘o said.
Manziel outpointed Te‘o, the
Notre Dame linebacker, 2,029-1,706 to win the award emblematic of the
most outstanding player in college football. Kansas State quarterback
Collin Klein was third with 894. Manziel had 474 first-place votes to
321 for Te'o and 60 for Klein.
Manziel became the first
freshman to win the award, denying Te‘o the opportunity to become the
first exclusively defensive player to win.
"I came a long way," Te‘o said
afterward. "That's something to look at; I came a long way. They said
that is the most points a defensive player has ever gotten, I guess. But
you know, congratulations to Johnny. He deserves it. He had a wonderful
season. I'm just relieved. Now it is time to get ready for battle (in
the Jan. 7 Bowl Championship Series title game) against Alabama."
Te‘o, a team captain and heart
of the nation's top-ranked scoring defense, led the Fighting Irish to a
12-0 regular season, the No. 1 spot in the major polls and a berth in
the Jan. 7 BCS title game.
He won six major postseason awards this season, breaking the mark of five set by Charles Woodson of Michigan in 1997.
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