Slow down the hype machine and look at what's really happening.

Te'o has made some plays during team (11-on-11) situations against the No. 2 and/or No. 3 offense. Bronco Mendenhall did say that team drills are the most important of practice, so that weighs in Te'o's factor. But he also said Te'o has a ways to go. The three pillars Bronco bases playing time on are 1) effort, 2) knowing your assignment, 3) making plays. I'd say Te'o, who appears to be a very instinctive player, has two of the three down. The third (assignment sound) will take time.

Now let's look at the safety situation. Starters are seniors Kellen Fowler and David Tafuna. Unless there's an injury, those two guys will play 99 percent of the snaps this year. Behind them are sophomore Andrew Rich (who's rising like a bullet in practice) and redshirt freshman Jordan Pendleton. Both of those guys have the advantage of having been in the system longer, so they know the safety assignments better.

If there was an injury to Fowler or Tafuna it's more likely Bronco would cross train cornerback Scott Johnson and move him to safety than Te'o moving up the depth chart this early in his career.

Look, I'm not saying Te'o isn't a good player. He has shown nice playmaking ability in the first week of practice. I'm only saying his current situation would indicate he won't play in 2008 and will redshirt.

Don't call him the second coming of Aaron Francisco just yet.