INDIANAPOLIS -- Be careful what you post on the Internet. You never know who's watching.
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That shouldn't be a new message in 2013.
Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Speilman has paid extra attention to the social media habits of players during evaluations this year. He admitted the Manti Te'o situation placed an emphasis on the research.
"We've done a lot of digging on social media," Speilman said Thursday at the NFL Scouting Combine, "and have a pretty in-depth picture of these players that are involved or not involved in social media. How many times they tweet or twit, I don't know, I'm not a technical guy. But it's interesting to see the patterns on some of these social media players as well."
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Te'o has become more well-known for his "catfish" incident with a fake girlfriend than the football skills that made him a Heisman Trophy finalist. He might be the latest and most prominent example, but teams have been monitoring social media sites like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for years. Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider said "you'd be shocked" by how closely teams pay attention to those feeds. The incident with the Washington Redskins, as reported last month by NFL.com, is another cautionary tale of the dangers of social media.
This is just part of the scouting process in 2013. Prospects should know that by now.
Follow Kareem Copeland on Twitter @kareemcopeland.
