NOTRE DAME — Manti Te’o can feel the grind.

His body hurts.

Two-a-days and counteless 11-on-11 scrimmages have taken their toll.

But the Notre Dame senior linebacker wouldn’t trade it for anything, not even a first-round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.

“When this is all said and done, I know I’m going to miss this,” he said. “I’m just trying to take advantage of every day that I have here, with my teammates and at this school.”

Te’o stunned the college football world when he passed up millions of dollars awaiting in the pros to return for his senior year at Notre Dame.

To say the linebacker, a former five-star recruit, has lived up to the hype surrounding him when he came to the school would be an insulting understatement.

In his three years in the program, Te’o has racked up 324 tackles — 36 for losses, eight sacks, eight quarterback hurries, six pass break-ups and two forced fumbles.

And all he has to show for it are a Sun Bowl title in 2010, two 8-5 records and a 6-6 record in 2009.

Te’o returned because he has unfinished business with Notre Dame, specifically a hunt for the elusive BCS bowl game.

He isn’t just talking the talk either.

Te’o has dropped 15 pounds, says he’s “twice as strong.” He now eats six small meals a day in place of three large meals.

“I watched what I ate, made sacrifices to stay on top of my game,” Te’o said at Media Day on Thursday. “Injuries occur when you’re tired, when you’re out of shape. If I’m in the best shape of my life, I shouldn’t have to worry about that stuff.”

He’s not just priming himself for the 2012 season, he’s preparing himself for the next level.

“My life is being a football player,” he said. “If I want to be a pro, I need to live a pro’s life.”

Head coach Brian Kelly said he’s seen Te’o’s transformation carry over to the rest of the team; what Te’o does, he expects others to do.

“I would say without question it’s now at a point where he is imposing his own set of standards on others,” Kelly said of Te’o. “He was always a leader by example in the way he handled himself both on and off the field, but now if somebody else is not doing it the right way, it’s not good enough, because it affects the way he sees his role. And that obviously is a very positive dynamic to have on your football team.

“He understands pure accountability, and he holds his teammates to a high level, too, and as a head coach, that’s a pretty good feeling.”

But he doesn’t yell. He doesn’t scream. He doesn’t get in your face.

That’s not his style.

“I’ve been in their shoes,” he said of his younger teammates. “I know what they’re going through. I try to help them. It’s saying, ‘I’ve been there, I can help you. Try doing this, try doing that.’

“I try to let them know that I expect more, coaches expect more and this school expects more.”

With all the talk of quarterback derbies, untested receivers and corners, the loss of Aaron Lynch, a handful of big-name recruits who backed out of their commitments to Notre Dame and projections of a third consecutive 8-5 season, Te’o sees something different.

“We have a special team,” he said. “I know you’ve heard that before, but it’s true. I’ve never been part of a team that’s as close as this team. We hold each other accountable, and it shows. It shows in our practices when we get after each other, and right after practice is done, we’re best friends again.”

Barring unforeseeable circumstances, Te’o will go on to the NFL — likely in the first round — earn his millions and may even become an elite pro linebacker.

But the pros can wait.

This year, it’s about taking care of some unfinished business.