Manti Te'o won't participate in the Senior Bowl, a decision that's probably for the best, given recent circumstances involving the Notre Dame linebacker.
That doesn't mean Te'o won't remain a topic of discussion, however. NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock is in Mobile, Ala., where he was asked on Monday's edition of "NFL Total Access" if Te'o's draft stock has been hurt by the hoax involving a fictitious girlfriend.
Te'o had been thought to be a first-round pick by many draft experts before his world caved in last week.
"As far as Manti Te'o is concerned, we're over three months from the draft," Mayock said. "And I try to tell everybody all the time: the draft is a process. It doesn't happen just because of your regular season or your bowl game. He's coming off a bad bowl game. He's coming off a situation where he's become somewhat of a national punchline.
"However, given the timeframe we have, does he have time to rehabilitate his image? I would tell you that until the facts come out, until we know everything that has actually happened, that no one knows how it will affect his draft status. But what I like is there's so much time left, all 32 teams are going to do their homework. On the field, he's a first-round pick to me, and at that point, he's just got to rehab everything, look people in the eye and say, 'I am that guy, maybe I made a mistake.' "
Given the nature of the 24-hour news cycle, the Te'o controversy will seem like it happened decades ago by the time we get to April. That said, this scandal won't be forgotten, especially by NFL teams deciding what rookie deserves a seven-figure investment.
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @DanHanzus.
