Manti Te'o: 'I'm in the best shape of my life'

San Diego Chargers inside linebacker Manti Te'o is primed for his second NFL season.

"I'm in the best shape of my life," Te'o told the San Diego Union-Tribune. "The way I feel, the control I have over my body, I'm the same weight but physically I'm just different. Mentally, obviously, I have a year under my belt. I can build off of that."

Drafted in the second round last year out of Notre Dame, Te'o was slowed by a stress fracture in his right foot and finished with 61 tackles last season as he missed three games.

He had foot surgery in January.

"The offseason was great," Te'o said. "Rookie year is possibly the hardest year. Everyone told me that it was. You go non-stop. It's all football from your last game in college to preparing for the combine to preparing for the draft to getting drafted and then coming straight to rookie minicamp and going through the real thing. The offseason allowed me to just get some away time and get a jumpstart in my workouts. It was good."

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Aaron Wilson covers the Ravens for The Baltimore Sun.

Aaron Wilson
Aaron Wilson covers the NFL for National Football Post, his second stint at the Post. He has previously written for Pro Football Talk and FOX Sports-Scout. Entering his 13th year covering the Baltimore Ravens, he's a beat writer for The Baltimore Sun. Wilson has also covered the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans.

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