SOUTH BEND, Ind. — "Do you have a jersey in Manti's (Te'o) number?" a customer inquired at the Notre Dame Varsity Shop yesterday.

"Not yet" came back the reply from the salesperson.

Here we are just entering the fifth game of his college career and it is true, big things are expected from the highly-touted freshman linebacker from Punahou School.

And not just from fans who want his No. 5 jersey, either.

"This week is a big, telling week for him to step up and make some big plays," said Notre Dame defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta of today's 9:30 a.m. (Hawai'i time) nationally televised game against Washington.

Te'o, Notre Dame's prize recruit this year, had two starts in the first four games but his spots have been well picked and actual on-the-field time sparing as coaches have sought to take advantage of his athleticism while he gets up to speed with their defensive schemes.

But this week head coach Charlie Weis has made a point of promising more playing time for Te'o, to the delight of fans. "He'll play more this week, that's all I'll tell you," Weis has been saying. "I'm not going to go over the game plan to tell you how we're going play him more, but he'll play more."

There has been considerable suspicion that, because of his size (6 feet 2, 244 pounds) and speed (4.6 40), the Irish might use Te'o as a so-called "spy" — a defender assigned to shadow a particular offensive player, though usually a running quarterback — on UW quarterback Jake Locker this week.

When asked about it Thursday, Weis smiled and said it was "coincidental" that Te'o was being marked for more playing time in a week when they were concerned about the dual run-pass threat of Locker.

But the Irish, mindful of some of the plays Te'o has made, including the game-preserving sack against Purdue last week, have a lot of reasons to want him on the field. Recruiting analyst Tom Lemming called Te'o the school's best top recruit at linebacker since Bob Crable in 1978 and coaches have seen the kind of big-play presence and hard-hitting inspiration he can bring to what has been an inconsistent defense.

So, too, have teammates who praise him as a "big player of the future" for Notre Dame, where he can fill any of the three linebacker positions. But the looming question, especially with the possibility of a church mission after this year, has been: How soon can be become a full-time player this season?

So far, Tenuta says, "I think he's a little bit behind," what they had initially hoped or. "I don't think it is totally due to him. It's due to the other guys playing a little bit better and helping us in this game," Tenuta said.

Weis said, "He's got top-line athleticism. It's taken him a little time to get comfortable with the position and all the formation recognition that goes on. In high school, a team lines up in their formation. And you'll basically be dealing with one formation or two formations. All of a sudden (in college) you get teams with multiple formations and multiple personnel groups. The sky's the limit for him. Once he knows what to do, he's going to be able to do it and do it very well. We knew coming in the door that Manti was going to be one of the more athletic guys that we brought on to this team, with size and speed. And I think that as he's gone through this learning process, he's getting close to really getting the trust of the defensive coaches to able to put him on the field more."

Weis says, "I have high expectations of Manti. I think you'll see Manti playing his best ball in October and November."

Maybe finding that No. 5 jersey on the shelves won't be far behind.