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GM Jerry Reese: Giants Will Interview Manti Te'o At NFL Scouting Combine

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Will Manti Te'o be a member of the New York Giants next season?

It's way to early to tell, but it's certainly a distinct possibility.

Big Blue will have the 19th pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, and it's conceivable that the former Notre Dame linebacker will fall to that slot. As the story of the hoax surrounding his fictional deceased girlfriend -- Lennay Kekua -- continues to unfold, it remains to be seen how his draft stock will be affected.

The Giants could have interest in the 2012 Heisman Trophy runner-up, and general manager Jerry Reese said on Tuesday that he's interested in speaking with the First Team All-American and hearing his side of the story face-to-face.

"It's too early to say anything definitive," Reese told the New York Post in regard to how much the Giants covet the 21-year-old. "We need to get more details."

The general manager said that team officials plan to conduct an interview with Te'o at the NFL Scouting Combine in February.

"We interview most all the players, and so we'll interview him, just like we interview everybody else," Reese told the Newark Star-Ledger. "If he's in the right spot, and we like him well enough, any of these guys could be a possibility, including him. He's in the mix with everybody else, but there's a lot of work to do before April. We'll get all the information that we can gather on these players, and we'll see how that goes."

Te'o took home the Lott Trophy, the Maxwell Award, the Chuck Bednarik Award, the Walter Camp Award, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, the Butkus Award and the Lombardi Award in 2012 en route to leading Notre Dame to an appearance in the BCS National Championship Game.

"We'll get all the information that we can gather on these players and we'll see how that goes," Reese told the Star-Ledger. "But right now it's still too early to tell which direction we'll go (in the draft). But like always, with us, we pick the best player that's on the board at the time."

Many recent reports have suggested that Te'o was a victim of the hoax and not in on it, although he did admit to Katie Couric that he briefly lied about the situation.

If Te'o falls to the Giants at No. 19, should Reese snag him? Sound off with your thoughts and comments below...

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