Manti Te’o Should be ‘First Round Pick’ Predicts Oddsmaker

BetOnline Head Linesmaker Dave Mason advised Gambling911.com that Manti Te’o 2013 NFL Draft odds were getting decent action on both sides.  He was still a -200 favorite to be selected first and would pay closer to 2/1 odds if he is not. 

“Both sides are getting some decent action but most of the money is on Te’o slipping out of the first round which I’m surprised by,” said Mason.

The Notre Dame linebacker helped lead his team into the NCAA title game against Alabama.

On September 11, 2012 it was reported that Te’o had lost both his grandmother and girlfriend within the span of one day.  The girlfriend, who Te’o initially identified as Lennay Kekua was said to have died after battling leukemia. 

Deadspin.com later reported that they found no record of any woman named Lennay Kekua and that the story of her death was a hoax. 

The university said in a statement that "Manti had been the victim of what appears to be a hoax in which someone using the fictitious name Lennay Kekua apparently ingratiated herself with Manti and then conspired with others to lead him to believe she had tragically died of leukemia."

“After getting steamrolled by Alabama a week and a half ago his draft stock took a hit; he was once considered a sure-fire top 10 pick,” Mason noted.  “After getting somewhat exposed in the BCS National Championship game, it seemed like he’d more than likely fall until the second half of the first round.

“Now with this bizarre story, who knows what kind of impact it will have on where he gets selected. A lot will depend on how he handles this situation and of course how he performs at the combine.

“I still think he goes in the first round, -200 seems like decent value to me.”

Mason was hoping to get some combine prop bets up just for Te’o in the coming week (i.e. How Many Bench Presses, etc..).

- Don Shapiro, Gambling911.com