Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MARCH 2024 61 2024 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE Viliamu-Asa committed to Notre Dame last summer over Ohio State, USC and a handful of others. The Buckeyes and Tro- jans would've loved to flip Viliamu-Asa away from the Irish late in the cycle, but Notre Dame was able to hold on during the fall and December without drama. "As far as recruiting, it was smooth," he continued. "It wasn't too much be- cause I committed before the season. And that's a reason why I committed in the summer — to not worry about re- cruiting too much. "I took a couple trips to Notre Dame and saw some great games. It made me even more excited to get up there." Viliamu-Asa took a trip with his church before announcing his college choice. He was able to unplug and pray before making his commitment. Going into it, he truly didn't know which school he'd end up picking. "It was really tight," he said. "It could've gone any of the three ways." There were rumors floating around in the couple weeks leading up to National Signing Day in December that Viliamu- Asa could flip to Ohio State. He "liked" a handful of Ohio State-related posts on social media, which college football fans took as a sign that the impressive line- backer recruit was going to flip. Viliamu-Asa didn't confirm or deny the rumors publicly. His mother, Taliuta, re- sponded to Irish fans on a handful of oc- casions on Twitter to make it clear that her son would be signing with Notre Dame. Viliamu-Asa notes that he didn't actually get close to flipping to any other program. "Regardless of what I'm going to say, my mom is going to do what she wants to do," Viliamu-Asa said with a laugh. "That's her being her. There wasn't too much to look into." You don't often see linebackers on the field as true freshmen at a school the cal- iber of Notre Dame, but Viliamu-Asa has the ability to play — and play a lot — this fall. The Irish staff has communicated that to him as well. "They've expressed that I have the opportunity, but nothing is going to be given to me," explained Viliamu-Asa. "Nothing will be handed to me, and that's exactly how I want it. I have to put the work in and do what I have to do." Viliamu-Asa was a standout per- former all week at the All-American Bowl in early January. He ended up with a five-star rating according to Rivals and ranked as a top-100 prospect across the board. "It was great," he said of his week in San Antonio. "Experiencing this with players from all over the country — it's definitely new. It's cool getting to know everyone and play with a team like that." ✦ Sign up now at BlueandGold.com! BlueandGold.com is the companion site to Blue & Gold Illustrated magazine. It is a separate subscription and is NOT included with the magazine. Regularly $119.99 a year • Offer valid for new subscribers only FEATURING: ✦ NEXT-GENERATION PLAYER DATABASE ✦ RECRUITING SCOOP ✦ DAILY TEAM COVERAGE ✦ STRONG COMMUNITY ✦ NEW MOBILE APP! ✦ MONTHLY OPTION AVAILABLE 25% JOIN TODAY JOIN TODAY BLUEANDGOLD.COM BLUEANDGOLD.COM The premier Notre Dame site, now on the On3 network, has a special offer for ALL Notre Dame fans: 25% OFF with promo code GoIrish2024 Viliamu-Asa was a prolific tackler in high school, racking up a total of 225 stops in his last two years at St. John Bosco — 114 tackles as a senior and 111 as a junior. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER