The Manti Te’o comparisons from a handful of recruiting evaluators may be a bit off-target, but Notre Dame landing a Sunday evening commitment from consensus four-star linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (St. John Bosco High School; Bellflower, Calif.) certainly evokes that kind of excitement around South Bend.
Viliamu-Asa choosing the Irish over his other finalists of USC and Ohio State was a public recruiting win, the kind that can spur further momentum, especially since the southern California native kept his choice effectively silent until the public announcement, a rarity in modern recruiting. The No. 3 inside linebacker and the No. 35 overall recruit in the class, per rivals.com, Viliamu-Asa should become the third top-50 prospect Notre Dame has signed at linebacker in the last three cycles, joining current freshman Drayk Bowen (No. 48 overall) and sophomore Jaylen Sneed (No. 46).
That pipeline was part of what ultimately swayed Viliamu-Asa.
“The big thing was development,” he said to rivals.com. “They have a rich history of producing linebackers. They’ve had numerous Butkus Award winners (Manti Te’o, Jaylon Smith, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah) and to be a part of that legacy was something that was important to me as far as my aspirations to go into the league.
Name a college football powerhouse and it offered Viliamu-Asa a scholarship, including Alabama, Georgia, LSU and Michigan. At 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds, he already plays with a mature type of strength that almost suggests he has been training under Irish strength and conditioning coordinator Matt Balis for the last year.
Viliamu-Asa’s highlight reel shows him comfortable in both pass coverage and pass rush, but it is in the latter that his instincts show best. He does not get distracted by offensive action (presnap motion, play-action, etc.) and instead finds his way straight to the ball. He will spend some time in college rushing the passer, be assured of that.
Lining up as a hybrid defensive end would also help keep Viliamu-Asa away from some mismatches in coverage. He does not have the speed to keep up with more modern tight ends. To draw from Notre Dame examples: Covering Michael Mayer may have been within Viliamu-Asa’s reach, but Tyler Eifert would have run away from him.
A torn ACL cost Viliamu-Asa his sophomore season, so it is within reason to think a strong senior year could boost his recruiting profile a bit further. He is already the highest-ranked defender in the Irish class of 2024, behind only five-star quarterback CJ Carr (at No. 21 overall).
Any slight bump should push Viliamu-Asa toward five-star status. Rivals.com has awarded just 23 players that nod thus far this recruiting cycle. About 32 should be expected, both the average across the last three recruiting cycles and fitting the rough definition of a five-star prospect as a likely first-round NFL draft pick.
The 22nd commitment in Notre Dame’s class of 2024, Viliamu-Asa is the third linebacker, joining rivals.com four-star Bodie Kahoun (Patrick Henry H.S.; Roanoke, Va.) and consensus three-star Teddy Rezac (Westside; Omaha, Neb.). His pledge moved the Irish class into No. 4 in the country, behind Georgia, Ohio State and Florida. As programs fill their classes around the country, fewer teams look primed to surge into the top five.
Perhaps Clemson could jump, with only 17 recruits in a class currently ranked No. 9. Or Texas A&M looms at No. 10 with just 18 commitments. Of course, Alabama is a threat even from back at No. 16 thanks to having just 15 commitments to date.
Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa. Notre Dame. pic.twitter.com/M6JYtr2b20
— Matt Freeman (@mattfreemanISD) July 23, 2023
