Te'o says no to BYU

Five-star recruit Manti Teo’s decision to eliminate BYU from consideration was certainly a disappointing one for coaches and the fan base. Te’o is the top-rated linebacker in the country and, according to ESPN.com, is the No. 2 recruit overall in the country this year.
Te’o said Saturday he has narrowed down his choices to three — USC, UCLA and Notre Dame, crossing both BYU and Stanford off his list.
Based on his comments about the decision, Te’o doesn’t want to be part of the LDS majority, figuring he can make a bigger impact in regard to representing the LDS Church at USC, UCLA or Notre Dame.
This is what he told totalbluesports.com today: “I love BYU and I have three cousins there and I really thought I’d want to play there and be with them. But when it came down to it I just thought I could make a bigger impact and be a bigger influence elsewhere. I think at a school like USC or UCLA I could really represent the Mormon church well.”
Te’o contacted Cougar coach Bronco Mendenhall Saturday to inform him of his decision.
‘I have a lot of respect for Bronco Mendenhall and for BYU,” Te’o told the web site. ‘It just didn’t work out and it was a very tough decision for me to drop BYU because of my family there, but I feel the other schools just offer more for me right now.’
BYU’s recruiting class will still sign a very good class on Feb. 4, but losing Te’o is a major blow. The Cougars will focus their attention on two other talented players who have not yet committed — Timpview offensive lineman Xavier Su’a-Filo and Bingham linebacker L.T. Filiaga.