Notre Dame football: Te'o: 'There is no way that I could be part of this'

SOUTH BEND -- The silence finally ended as Friday night turned into Saturday morning. But will there ever really be a finish line to college football’s feel-good story turned bizarre and all of its tentacles?

At least Manti Te’o provided a needed splash of definition in a marathon 2½-hour, off-camera interview with ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap, aired roughly 56 hours after a Deadspin.com story about the Notre Dame All-America linebacker transformed him from the face of ND’s football resurgence into a polarizing figure that transcends sports.

There were so many loops to close, so much context to paint in an interview that didn’t begin airing until 12:30 a.m. EST Saturday. Te’o had a public relations consultant present for the interview conducted in Bradenton, Fla., where he is training for the NFL Scouting Combine.

And here are some of the most compelling snippets, most of which originally came in Schaap’s voice rather than direct quotes from Te’o: