Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa injury update: Notre Dame linebacker out for the season

On Sunday, the Notre Dame football communications team announced that linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa’s sophomore campaign is over. Viliamu-Asa suffered a season-ending left knee injury in the Irish’s 70-7 win over Syracuse on Saturday.

Also on Sunday, Notre Dame announced that reserve cornerback Chance Tucker is out for the season. The fifth-year player went down with a left tibia injury vs. the Orange. It is the second season-ending injury in as many years for Tucker. Previously, Notre Dame lost him before the 2024 season due to a torn ACL.

Viliamu-Asa is about 4.5 years removed from suffering a torn ACL in his left knee, which required surgery. That injury happened in the final game of his high school freshman year for Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco during the Spring 2021 COVID-19 season.

On Saturday, Blue & Gold spotted Viliamu-Asa on the sideline and out of uniform in the second half. In the first half, he recorded 2 tackles and 2 quarterback hurries. His last recorded statistic was a QB hurry on first down with 13:19 remaining in the second quarter.

Though it is unclear when the injury occurred, Blue & Gold beat reporter Tyler Horka pointed out on social media Sunday that Viliamu-Asa got awkwardly rolled up on on two plays late in the second quarter. Viliamu-Asa played 29 snaps in the game.

Entering Saturday’s game, Viliamu-Asa had been Notre Dame’s top defender. Pro Football Focus gave him an 87.2 grade, ranking fourth in all of college football among Power Four linebackers. In the first 10 games, he totaled 46 tackles and a team-high 7.5 tackles for loss. Viliamu-Asa also added 3 sacks, 2 pass breakups, 3 quarterback hurries, an interception and a fumble recovery.

He had been especially elite against the run. According to PFF, his run-defense grade was 93.2, by far the best on the team and the second-best among all college football linebackers, trailing only Texas Tech’s Jacob Rodriguez. PFF also credited Viliamu-Asa with a team-best 24 run stops.

Still, he remained impactful as a pass rusher. Including his 3 sacks, PFF credited him with 21 quarterback pressures, fourth on the team, 12th among all linebackers, and tied for sixth among Power Four linebackers.

Last season, Viliamu-Asa sustained a sprain in his right knee against Army on Nov. 23, 2024. That kept him from playing in the regular-season finale against USC and Notre Dame’s first-round playoff game vs. Indiana. He eventually returned to play 13 snaps against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl and finished the remainder of the season.

Through 11 games in 2025, Viliamu-Asa played 435 snaps, seventh on the team and second among linebackers, just behind junior captain Drayk Bowen. At linebacker, the Irish will lean on redshirt sophomore Jaiden Ausberry, redshirt junior Jaylen Sneed and freshman Madden Faraimo moving forward.