Punahou School's Manti Te'o not only has the pick of schools at which to play football, apparently he also has a choice of numbers to wear when he gets there.

Word is that Southern California head coach Pete Carroll has offered jersey No. 55 — made famous by Junior Seau — as incentive for Te'o to sign on with the Trojans.

Nor, apparently, is USC alone in appealing to the Buffanblu linebacker's numerical interests. Others have reportedly offered his high school number — 5 — or anything else that might catch his fancy.

Here it is nearly eight months before national letter of intent day, the date when high school recruits can begin signing binding commitments, and the tale of Te'o grows in proportion to the number of scholarship offers.

Of course, Punahou School coach Kale Ane said he isn't sure what the count is at the moment, only that it is in the dozens and he has spent several months talking to a lot of coaches from far (Florida) and near (Hawai'i).

Ane, who played at Michigan State and had an NFL career, says, "I had — and this is stretching it a little — maybe four (scholarship offers)."

Ane should be prepared to see more coaches on Te'o's behalf. www.Scout.com, a recruiting service, has made Te'o its No. 4 prospect nationally irrespective of position and its top inside linebacker. He is a consensus top 10 of the major services. Yesterday, Te'o headed Scout's Northwest 100, encompassing prospects in Washington, Oregon, Utah, Idaho and Hawai'i.

No surprise, there. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Te'o has long since stepped high into rarified recruiting air, surpassing even the interest generated by Mosi Tatupu, Jason Ching and JT Mapu, who made high school All-America teams.

But it is as apparent as one of Te'o's spleen-rattling tackles that along with his many talents — and a Pac-10 coach swears he could start as a linebacker or running back — he has some impressive coattails, too. The long line of coaches and recruiting gurus who have come here to check out Te'o is a bonanza for more than the tourist industry; it also is opening up opportunities for other players.

Consider that four of the top 10 prospects on the www.Scout.com Northwest list are from Hawai'i. More than the states of Washington and Oregon — combined. Thirteen of the top 40 and 30 of the top 100 are from Hawai'i. Unprecedented numbers, really.

Talented players to be sure, but many might have been overlooked or under-recruited until the pursuit of Te'o thickened. While Notre Dame's Charlie Weis jets in for a quick look, others, including his assistants, have stuck around to take longer, wider looks.

Whatever number Te'o ends up wearing, it may not be as impressive as the ones he is helping to generate.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.