Dallas Cowboys select Notre Dame LB Marist Liufau in third round of 2024 NFL Draft
Marist Liufau is headed to the Lone Star State. The Dallas Cowboys selected Liufau in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft on Friday night.
Liufau is the third player from Notre Dame picked in this year’s draft, joining offensive linemen Joe Alt (No. 5 overall to the Los Angeles Chargers) and Blake Fisher (No. 59 overall to the Houston Texans).
Liufau’s five seasons in South Bend were quite a journey. He redshirted as a freshman in 2019, only appearing in four games. He cracked the rotation and played in 10 games, including three starts, in 2020. One of those starts came against Alabama in the College Football Playoff.
Then a major injury threatened to derail his career entirely.
Liufau suffered a nasty leg fracture in fall camp ahead of the 2021 season. He missed the whole year. Liufau returned and started all 13 of Notre Dame’s games in 2022. He was productive, totaling 51 tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery. As a fifth-year senior this past fall, Liufau had 44 tackles, including six for a loss and three sacks.
“I feel like I’m very versatile as a linebacker,” Liufau said. “Being able to cover, being able to be off the ball, get guys lined up, being a leader, a vocal leader out there, and also being able to rush off the edge or in the A gap, B gap, wherever coach needs me.”
Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden said Liufau was better in 2023 than he was in 2022 regardless of what the stats say. He truly turned himself into a next-level talent in his last year with the Fighting Irish. The Cowboys taking a chance on him on day two of the draft is evidence enough of that.
Liufau credited playing two seasons under Golden for getting him here.
“He’s got an NFL style of defense, so just bringing that with him — for me, being able to learn that and to really get it down has helped me tremendously throughout the past few seasons,” Liufau said.
Golden trusted Liufau as much as almost anyone on the roster the last two years. He played 646 defensive snaps in 2022, which led the team on that side of the ball. He logged another 595 last year, which placed tied for fifth among Notre Dame defensive players.
Liufau is the first Notre Dame linebacker selected in the NFL Draft since Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah went to the Cleveland Browns in the second round in 2021. Liufau should be joined this year by JD Bertrand. That duo spent many snaps on the field together in Blue and Gold uniforms.
Now they’re embarking on the next phase of their careers, with Bertrand’s destination to be determined sometime Saturday.
“JD is a tough dude,” Liufau said. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned about him in my five years, he’s a tough dude. He’s going to work. He’s going to get done what he needs to get done. He’s a special player. I played with him and got to know him over the years, and he’s one of my best friends.”
