SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o felt a bit uncomfortable sitting at a table surrounded by TV cameras in the front of the football meeting room yesterday, while his freshmen teammates sat in scattered seats accompanied by a much smaller number of reporters.

Te'o would much rather have been one of the boys.

"I'm not fond of excluding myself from everybody and putting myself on a pedestal," he said.

Being just one of the boys, though, is going to be a challenge for Te'o. As the highest rated defensive recruit to arrive at Notre Dame in years, the Irish faithful are expecting great things from the 6-2, 245-pound linebacker from La'ie.

Coach Charlie Weis is doing nothing to lower those expectations.

"I expect to see him on the field in the opener. I don't think we'll be seeing him standing on the sideline very long," Weis said.

Although Te'o felt uncomfortable in front of the cameras, he looked like a veteran as he effortlessly answered question after question.

He's also well aware of the expectations for him. He grew up in a community on the North Shore of O'ahu, referring to his hometown as "like little Texas" because the love of football runs so deep. He went to Punahou School, where President Obama also attended. And he's eager to show people what Hawai'i players can do.

"That we can play a good brand of football," he said.

He's already made believers of his coaches and teammates.

"He's big, he's fast," defensive tackle Ethan Johnson said. "He's an athletic guy and he's obviously got talent according to the coaches and all the scouts. He's got a talent that I guess not a whole bunch of people have."

Defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta said it's Te'o's football intelligence that sets him apart.

"He knows exactly what we want him to do. The more reps he gets the better he's going to be," Tenuta said.

So far that's been a challenge. Te'o has been unable to go full speed for about a half dozen practices the past week because of an inflamed hamstring in his right thigh. But Te'o is still picking the game up mentally, and Weis credits linebacker Scott Smith, a team captain, with doing a good job of tutoring Te'o over the summer.

"He pulled him aside and helped simplify the reads and what we're doing on the defense, which allowed us by the time we got to training camp for him to have a better understanding of what we're doing from day one," Weis said.

FEELING THE HEAT

Te'o, who brought shorts when he visited South Bend last November, said he was surprised by how hot it's been the first two weeks of practice, calling it a bit of culture shock. He expects more of a shock when winter arrives.

"It's football. You have to play in hot or cold," he said.

Te'o made his campus visit to Notre Dame when the Irish played Syracuse, a blustery day when a bad Orange team scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to beat the Irish 24-23. Some fans threw snowballs at Irish players, and when Te'o left before halftime, many Irish fans were worried it was a bad sign.

Te'o was asked why he didn't rule out Notre Dame after that visit.

"I didn't close the door on Notre Dame simply for the fact it's Notre Dame," he said. "I feel the tradition here every day. I know that after football the education that I receive here will take me places. That is something you can never close the door on."

Many Irish fans are eager to find out whether Te'o plans to go on a two-year Mormon mission after the season. Te'o said he hasn't decided, saying he is constantly talking to his parents and church leaders.

Regardless, Te'o hopes to make an impact at Notre Dame that goes beyond football.

"Everyone will see what you do on a football field. But I think what matters the most is who you are inside. My dad always told me don't necessarily be a man of success, but be a man of worth," he said. "So I constantly strive to be a good person all around."