Manti Te'o is awesome at more than just football

This is a small anecdote about Manti Te'o, but one of the neater things we've heard this college football season.

Te'o is a big deal right now. Notre Dame football appears to be back -- at No. 5, the Irish have their highest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll ranking since 2006, the last season they went to a BCS bowl game. Try to find a bigger reason for this success than Manti.

Still, he seems like just an awesome, humble guy. Take this tweet from The Salt Lake Tribune's Jay Drew for example:

Manti Te'o makes a point out of learning every walk-on's name. Says he doesn't want anyone to feel left out, or have to eat alone.

How cool is that? For perspective: Most head coaches don't even do this.

Its unsurprising though. Just read this great feature on Te'o from our own George Schroeder:

Meet the catalyst for Notre Dame's resurgence. At linebacker, Te'o is a 6-2, 255-pound wrecking ball. A probable high NFL draft pick in April, an All-American, perhaps even a Heisman Trophy candidate. In Berry's studio on the other side of campus, he is an eager, engaged learner.

"If I didn't know he was a football star at Notre Dame," Berry says, "I would have no idea."

Everyone knows, of course, which makes the juxtaposition so intriguing. The football star is known around campus as a regular student, outgoing and friendly and, well, when Brian Kelly says, "There isn't a better representative" of Notre Dame, the coach means not just the football team but the school.

"He brings back the ideal of having faith in others," Kelly says. "We live in a cynical society, and everyone is quick to point a finger, and it's always to blame. He's that example of, you can have faith in a person."