ON DECK: Long road ahead for Te'o

On Saturday, while at the draft combine, former Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o came forward and took questions from the media — mostly regarding the faux-girlfriend conspiracy that's dominated his life this offseason.

During the press conference, Te'o said he isn't worried about being the butt of jokes in an NFL locker room. However, I think that's going to be the least of his problems. There will be rugged NFL players who will say anything to get an emotional and mental edge during the game. I don't exactly see a 6-foot-5, 300-pound offensive lineman being nice to poor Manti and keeping any mean-spirited comments to himself. There are entire stadiums who might join in on the ribbing by chanting out “Len-nay! Len-nay!”

As Te'o walks in and out of the locker room, I'm sure there will be opposing fans who've had five too many beers during the tailgate screaming insults at Te'o. Being a joke among teammates might be the least of his problems.