Notre Dame holds off Ohio State, lands signature from elite LB Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa
Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco’s Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, who ranks as the No. 63 overall prospect and No. 6 linebacker in the nation according to the 2024 On3 Industry Ranking, committed to Notre Dame back in late July over Ohio State and USC.
But in the weeks leading up to National Signing Day, both programs would have loved to flip him. There was some buzz from the Ohio State side that the Buckeyes were hopeful of pulling off the commitment switch, even if some of that was wishful thinking based on social media posts that Viliamu-Asa “liked.”
But Viliamu-Asa stuck with his pledge on National Signing Day, putting pen to paper with the Fighting Irish. The university made his letter of intent signing official.
Viliamu-Asa will enroll at Notre Dame next month, shortly after playing in the All-American Bowl in San Antonio on Jan. 6. Sources on the Irish side of things believe that Viliamu-Asa is talented and polished enough to play as a true freshman.
Viliamu-Asa, who was the Irish’s top linebacker target on the 2024 board, had a monster senior season, posting 114 tackles (56 solo), 13 tackles for loss, 3 pass breakups, 1.5 sacks, a fumble recovery and an interception.
Prep Football Report analyst Tom Lemming named Notre Dame linebacker Viliamu-Asa one of five finalists for the Butkus Award. The award honors the top linebacker in high school football.
Lemming serves on the Butkus Award committee. He also recognized fellow 2024 class linebackers Sammy Brown, Payton Pierce, Brayden Platt and Justin Williams as finalists. The Irish offered scholarships to the other four finalists. However, they all chose to commit and sign elsewhere.
The Viliamu-Asa bio
Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa at Bellflower (California) St. John Bosco played on one of the most star-studded defenses in all of high school football in 2022. Yet, it was Viliamu-Asa that walked away with the highest postseason honors on a defense full of five- and four-star recruits.
Viliamu-Asa was named the Southern Section All-CIF Defensive Player of the Year as a junior. He earned the recognition after making big play after big play, including against archrival Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei. In a postseason matchup of California football juggernauts, Viliamu-Asa led the Braves with 7.5 tackles, 2.5 tackles for a loss and 1.5 sacks. He also had a key fumble recovery in the Open Division state title game against Serra.
Viliamu-Asa finished 2022 with 111 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, two fumbles and one interception. He missed the 2021 season because of an ACL injury that occurred in Bosco’s final spring game of the 2021 COVID-19 makeup season.
