INDIANAPOLIS -- Manti Teo walked into a crowded room of reporters Saturday, took a breath and settled in for 15 minutes of NFL scouting combine history. . Again, the former Notre Dame linebacker explained how he had been duped into an Internet romance he had with a girlfriend he never met. He did his best to turn the page on an embarrassing chapter by talking football. This time, he even got to see it play out on live television 12 yards away -- where three muted flat-screen monitors were in direct view of Teo. He answered every question with thoughtful deliberation and tried to provide clarity on a hoax that turned one of the nations most inspirational college football players into the butt of national jokes. "I cared for somebody. Thats what I was taught to do ever since I was young. Somebody needs help, you help them out," Teo said. Later he added: "People doubted me because I took a while to come out. From our point of view, we wanted to let everything come out first, and then let my side come out. The way we did it, I thought, worked best for me." Teos news conference was the most anticipated event of the NFLs second-biggest off-season weekend, which brought the makeshift media room inside Lucas Oil Stadium to a virtual standstill -- twice. The too-good-to-be-true story began with Teos incredible performances after learning his grandmother and what he believed was his girlfriend had died within hours of one another in September. Teo said it inspired him to play his best football all season, and it was so compelling that it helped turn Teo into a Heisman Trophy contender as he was leading the Fighting Irish to an undefeated regular season and into the national championship game. On Dec. 26, Teo notified Notre Dame officials that he had received a call from his supposedly dead girlfriends phone three weeks earlier. The school investigated and on Jan. 16 -- after Deadspin.com broke the story of the fake girlfriend -- athletic director Jack Swarbrick announced at a news conference that Teo had been duped. Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, 22, later said he created the online persona of Lennay Kekua, a nonexistent woman who Teo said he fell in love with despite never meeting her in person. Since then, Teo had only done a few one-on-one interviews. On Saturday all that changed as many of the 800 credentialed media members surrounded the podium in rows that went eight deep. Teo wore a tie-died red-and-black workout shirt. "Its pretty crazy," said Teo, who has played most of his games on national television and was one of the most recognizable college players last season. "Ive been in front of a few cameras before, but never as many as this." Only two scenes from the combine over the past 15 years could even compare to what Teo had to contend with Saturday. The first came in 2004 when former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett was allowed to participate in the combine after a court ruled he should be allowed to enter the draft after finishing high school only two years earlier. That decision was later reversed. The other time was 2010, when Heisman Trophy winner and two-time national champion Tim Tebow stepped to the podium in Indianapolis and everyone, including those listening to Packers coach Mike McCarthy, sprinted to the opposite end of the room for Tebow. This was different. When word leaked Teo would speak at about noon, reporters immediately surrounded the podium. Over the next 25 minutes, rumours circulated that in a rare and possibly unprecedented move, Teos agent would speak from the podium. That did not happen. There also was speculation that Teo might deliver an opening statement like the then-injured Michael Crabtree did in 2009 and Cam Newton did two years later. That did not happen, either, though Teo did make a closing statement in which he thanked his family, friends and fans for standing by him during this tumultuous month. "Its definitely embarrassing. You walk into grocery stores and people give you double takes to see if theyre staring at you," he said before explaining hes moved on. "If I was embarrassed, I wouldnt be able to stand in front of you." The only thing that really matters in Indy, though, is what team officials think. Teo said in the two formal interviews hes had, with Green Bay and Houston, they have asked about the hoax. He has another 18 interviews left. Will it hurt his draft position? Former NFL executive Bill Polian, architect of four Super Bowl teams in Buffalo and two in Indianapolis, has been adamant that it wont, and coaches and general managers seem to agree. Most say they are more concerned with the red flags of other players -- drug use, alcohol abuse, academic woes and even criminal allegations -- than they are with Teos tale. "Somebody thats not truthful, thats big, to me. Im a big fan of the Judge Judy show. And when you lie in Judge Judys courtroom, its over. Your credibility is completely lost. You have no chance of winning that case," San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh said Friday. "I learned that from her. Its very powerful, and true. Because if somebody does lie to you, how can you ever trust anything they ever say after that?" Two questions later, he was asked whether that meant the reigning NFC champs would avoid Teo in Aprils draft. "No. I wouldnt say that," Harbaugh said. Teo and the general public werent the only ones watching the interview session Saturday. Team officials are taking notes, too. "Honestly, its a distraction. If he can handle that distraction and still be able to perform on the football field, I really dont think it makes that much of a difference," Carolina coach Ron Rivera said before Teo spoke. "Well talk about it, well find out about it. The bottom line is, is he a good person and can he play football?" On the field, Teos is one of the top linebackers available. Last season, he won the Maxwell Award, Bednarik Award, Butkus Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Lombardi Award and Walter Camp national player of the year and finished second in balloting for the Trophy. But there are concerns. Teo was asked if the undercurrent of the hoax explained his poor play in Notre Dames BCS championship game loss to Alabama. He has said it didnt. "They want to be able to trust their players. You dont want to invest in somebody you cant trust," Teo said. "With everybody here, theyre just trying to get to know you as a person and as a football player, and I understand where theyre coming from." But the hardest part has been seeing the impact its had on those around him. In a phone call, Teo said his sister explained how the family had to sneak into its own house because of the people parked in the front yard, and he also said he empathized with the chaos it has caused Tuiasosopos family. He said he has no plans to sue, either. Instead, Teo just wants to forget about the hoax and focus on football. "Ive learned first, just to be honest in everything you do, from the big things to the small things. To keep your circle very small and to really understand whos in your corner and whos not," he said. "Going off of the season my team and I had, there were a lot of people in our corner, and then when Jan. 16th happened, there was a lot of people in the other corner. Ive just learned to appreciate the people that I have that are with me." 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Utah came into the game holding the No.There might not be another draft position more daunting than the fifth spot, currently held by the Toronto Raptors. If you look at the history of the NBA draft, beginning with the infamous 1985 teams-into-a-tumbler lottery that eventually landed the Knicks Patrick Ewing, this will mark the 27th five-pick that will get called to the podium. Since that 1985 draft, there has been one player drafted fifth that has gone on to a spot in the Hall-of-Fame, and that was Scottie Pippen way back in 1987. Drafted by Seattle, he never played a game for the SuperSonics, who traded his rights to the Bulls for Olden Polynice. Looking back, obviously, its a wreck of a deal for the Sonics, but who would have known that a virtual unknown would become a Hall-of-Famer and named to the NBAs Top 50 All-Time team? And thats the sort of the unknown that comes from this slot, the diversity of what you can acquire. Its high enough to have some value, only youre not sure if the value is in the pick, or trading the pick for an asset. There are two players who should be Hall bound: current Celtics teammates Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, taken in consecutive years (1995 and 1996). In 2007, the Celtics actually used the fifth pick in the draft for the basis of a deal that would land Allen in Boston. That pick turned out to be Jeff Green, whos now with the Celtics. Theres also an NBA Finals MVP in the mix, as Dwyane Wade was chosen by the Heat in the much-ballyhooed draft class of 2003. While he shined for Marquette in the NCAA tournament that year, it was not assumed that he would go on to the impressive pro career he has put together thus far. Raptors fans know the value of the fifth pick. In 1998 they traded their fourth pick, Antawn Jamison, for the rights to North Carolina teammate and fifth pick Vince Carter. Say what you will about his career and how badly his Toronto era ended, but Toronto managed to find a player who was, at one point, one of the best players in the NBA and arguably the leagues brightest star for a small but exciting period. Carter joins Allen, Garnett and Mitch Richhmond as the only fives to crack the 20,000-point scoring plateau. cheap nfl jerseys. Torontos pick the next year at five was Jonathan Bender, one of the many preps to pros that came out in that era, who never made any impact. Good thing for the Raptors that there was a already a deal in place to trade him to the Pacers for Antonio Davis, who helped the Raps to some of their best seasons ever. There have been plenty of players that have shown durability, led by 1994s Juwan Howard, whos still playing, and is making his first ever Finals appearance with the Heat this year. Hes joined by others like Steve Smith (1991, 13-year career), Laphonso Ellis (1992, 11-year career) and Tony Battie (1997, 13-year career, still active). More recently, the five spot has produced good, though not necessarily great players. They have become solid pros that are vital to a rotation, like Mike Miller (2000), Jason Richardson (2001), Devin Harris (2004) and Raymond Felton (2005). Kevin Love (2008) is trying to buck that trend. He earned himself an all-star nod and the leagues Most Improved Player award on the strength of a mammoth 20-point, 15-rebound per game average this season. And theres still no sure determination on others, including last years pick DeMarcus Cousins; Green seems to be big on Doc Rivers plans in Beantown next year, while Ricky Rubio (2009), has yet to step on an NBA court. Of course, there have been major misses as well. The Atlanta Hawks spent the five pick on Shelden Williams in 2006, whos known more for being married to WNBA star Candace Parker than what hes done on the court. And then theres Nikoloz Tskitishvili, who the Nuggets grabbed in 2002. In total, he played four years in the NBA, racking up career totals of 2.9 points and 1.8 rebounds per game in 172 career starts. He remains one of the worst lottery draft picks all-time. Youve read what the draft position has garnered in the lottery era, Raptors fans. So now we want to know: How confident are you in the fifth pick in this years NBA Draft? Its Your! Call. ' ' '