Manti Te'o -- one of the best defenders this season in college football -- defended himself in an ESPN interview, saying there was no way he was part of a hoax involving a deceased girlfriend.

"I wasn't faking it," Te'o told ESPN's Jeremy Schaap in an off -camera interview highlighted on the network Friday night. "I wasn't part of this."

For days, the linebacker has been the subject of ridicule after reports surfaced that the girlfriend he'd said died this fall of leukemia never existed.

Te'o rose to national prominence by leading Notre Dame's Fighting Irish to an undefeated regular season, amassing double-digit tackle games and becoming the face of one of the best defenses in the nation.

As he and his team excelled, Te'o told interviewers in September and October that his grandmother and girlfriend -- whom he described as a 22-year-old Stanford University student -- had died within hours of each other.

The twin losses inspired him to honor them with sterling play on the field, Te'o said. He led his team to a 20-3 routing of Michigan State after he heard the news.

"I miss 'em, but I know that I'll see them again one day," he told ESPN.

He was second in the Heisman Trophy race and led his team to the championship game, losing to Alabama.

The fairy tale story ended Wednesday when sports website Deadspin published a piece dismissing as a hoax the existence of Te'o's girlfriend and suggesting he was complicit.

Te'o released a statement Wednesday saying he was a victim of a hoax, but Friday night was the first time he publicly addressed the issue.

"When (people) hear the facts, they'll know," Te'o told ESPN. "They'll know that there is no way that I could be part of this."

After a 2½-hour interview, veteran sports reporter Schaap said Te'o's story sounded convincing.

"He made a very convincing witness to his defense," Schapp said on ESPN. "He answered all my questions pretty convincingly. If he is making up his side of the story, he is a very convincing actor."

The twisted tale of Te'o and the mystery woman named Lennay Kekua has left many with questions.

Te'o sought to answer many of them Friday night.

Who created the hoax?

Te'o told Schaap that the hoax was created by a man named Ronaiah Tuiasosopo and that Te'o had no role in creating the hoax.

He said Tuiasosopo contacted him Wednesday via Twitter and explained that he created the hoax and he apologized, Schaap said. Tuiasosopo told Te'o he created the hoax along with another man and a woman, ESPN reported. CNN has not seen the tweets Te'o allegedly got from Tuiasosopo.

"Two guys and a girl are responsible for the whole thing," Te'o said, according to ESPN.

CNN went to the California home of Tuiasosopo, where Titus Tuiasosopo, Ronaiah's father, declined to comment.