BY GOV. NEIL ABERCROMBIE – Notre Dame senior linebacker Manti Te‘o, a Hawaii-born athlete, had a strong showing at Saturday’s Heisman Award ceremony, and also received the Walter Camp Award, Maxwell Award, Bednarik Award, Butkus Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, and Lombardi Award.
I called Manti’s father, Brian, and asked him to pass on congratulations from the people of Hawaii to Manti and his mother. Building on six national accolades earned earlier this week, Manti also earned the most points ever by a purely defensive player in Heisman history.
Manti represents not only his strong family values but Hawaii values as well. He represents a standard for others to achieve. We are all very proud of his accomplishments.
On behalf of all Hawaii, I commend Manti for his hard work and perseverance, and look forward to congratulating him in person.