What do Manti Te’o and Arkansas Have in Common – Open Thread

The big sports news of the day is Manti Te’o and his, um, situation. But it got us wondering if there was a connection to Arkansas and Te’o, and there is: Te’o and Darius Winston were both named to the USA Today All-USA High School Team in 2008 – Te’o to the first team defense, Winston to the second team defense.

From the University of Arkansas Department of Athletics, we share with you Winston’s high school biography.

HIGH SCHOOL: Winston was the state of Arkansas’ most highly recruited player with more than 30 scholarship offers. He was named a first-team USA TODAY All-American during his senior season at Central High School. He was also a 2008 EA SPORTS second-team All-American. He was invited to participate on the West team in the U.S. Army All-American Game, which was played on Jan. 3 in San Antonio, Texas. He was named the Defensive Player of the Year by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and was a Class 5A first-team all-state honoree. He was also named to the Arkansas AP Super Team and the All-Arkansas team by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He recorded 46 tackles, eight interceptions (two returned for touchdown) and nine pass breakups as a senior despite most teams throwing away from him. As a junior, he recorded 40 tackles and had two interceptions. He was the No. 26 overall prospect on the ESPNU 150 list. He was listed as the No. 24 recruit nationally, the No. 3 cornerback and the third-fastest athlete in the nation by Rivals.com. He was ranked as the fourth-best cornerback in the nation by Scout.com and the top-ranked player in the state of Arkansas on the HawgSports.com Natural 21 list. As a senior, he guided Central High School to the state title game with an interception in the quarterfinal, semifinal and state championship games. Winston also played wide receiver in the state title game, but did not have any receptions. He was coached in high school by Russell Smith. His final choices in the recruiting process were Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Miami (Fla.), Clemson, Michigan, Ole Miss and Tennessee.

So, what are your thoughts on Te’o, the hoax, and how something like this could happen? We’d love to know. Additionally, we’re still digging for other ties to the state and Te’o. If you know of any, please share with us in the comments section.

UPDATE: Here is the video produced by the University of Notre Dame on how Manti Te’o called “Strong of Heart.” Have you seen this?

From the description of the video:

“How does a Mormon linebacker from Hawaii end up at Notre Dame – and develop into one of the most iconic Fighting Irish football players of his generation? Learn Te’o’s story know.”