Perhaps Notre Dame senior Manti Te’o can finally take a breath after countering the growing number of question marks around him with a successful Pro Day. 

Te’o improved his 40 yard dash time of 4.82 seconds from the NFL combine with unofficial times of 4.75 and 4.71 seconds at Notre dame’s Pro Day. 

Te’o told the Chicago Tribune, "I felt good. I'm at home now. I was very pleased with how I performed.” 

Those words should taste sweet to Te’o who has spent the last few months with the bitter aftertaste of swallowing his pride over and over.  Te’o has had to endure long played out media attacks about his fake girlfriend hoax and poor National Championship play.  Another flag arose after Te’o combine performance but an improved Pro Day performance allows him to feel more at ease as the draft is now just weeks away. 

One NFL scout even explained to the Chicago Tribune that Teo's 40 time doesn’t make or break his future. 

“Playing fast and running fast are two different things. Guys get enamored so much with speed. Tell me, does it show up on tape when you watch the kid (Te’o)? I don’t think you watched the kid and said, ‘He’s slow.’ I don’t think what he runs Tuesday will change what most teams saw on tape.”

As of now, both of ESPN’s top draft analysts have Te’o going in the first round.  The NFL draft will kick off on Thursday, April 25. 

Here’s an ESPN video: