This is a complete generalization, but I have met a handful of people who are part of the LDS church and all had similar personalities. They are all very family oriented, do not use profanity, do not drink alcohol or even caffeine, and most would think they are socially awkward relative to today's social norms because of their lifestyles and beliefs. I think this is a significant part in creating a perfect storm for Te'o to be sucked up into something like this.
Te'o, an LDS Hawaiian comes to a Catholic school in the middle of Indiana. He's surrounded by people who celebrate the Jesus that turned water into wine and have different cultural, social, and religious beliefs than him. Although he is well-loved and respected by the ND community, I'm sure at times he has felt like an outsider. Along comes a good-looking woman who shares his values and is much closer to his home and everything he knows so he feels he can better relate to her. I think he is so kind, compassionate, and trusting that it made him naive in his approach to this situation. Imagine you are a midwestern Catholic man starring for the BYU football team and a pretty Catholic Chicago girl starts chatting with you. You're surrounded by Mormon girls that are different than you and she reminds you of home.
I also strongly believe the fabrications of meeting in person are a result of Te'o telling his family white lies because of the stigma associated with online dating. A star football player at ND shouldn't have trouble meeting girls in person or want to meet a woman across the country online. He's probably a bit embarrassed and tells his family he actually met Lennay in person. His father then relays these stories to the media. To be honest, these types of meetings happen way more than most of us are aware. Approximately 20% of marriages today started as online relationships, whether it be through a dating website, facebook, twitter, or a message board (any IE romance tales out there?). I guarantee most of you know someone who is or has been in a relationship or at least dated someone they met online, you just might not be aware of it since many do cover it up.
To conclude, at this point and with what I know, I believe Te'o was the victim of a cruel deception which took advantage of his trusting nature. All we can do now is wait and see how this plays out as more information is uncovered and becomes available.
