Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1526921
8 SEPT. 28, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa Checks All The Boxes By Todd D. Burlage With the page turned on veteran starters JD Bertrand and Marist Liufau after the 2023 season, Blue & Gold Illustrated titled the linebacker page in its 2024 Football Preview magazine, "Old And New." Bertrand (76) and Liufau (44) combined for 120 tackles last season, and were mainstays on the Irish defense since 2019. The "Old" in the story title applied specifically to sixth-year grad student and team captain Jack Kiser, who entered this season with 54 career appear- ances. The "New" … well, that applied to essentially everybody else on the Irish linebackers roster, includ- ing true freshman Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa. Remove Kiser from the equation, and the other eight scholarship linebackers entered this season with 47 career tackles, combined, mainly on special teams. That's where Viliamu-Asa enters the conversation. Clearly, the January enrollee wasn't necessarily on the top of most folks' minds this preseason to become an immediate rookie contributor. Though, maybe he should've been. Capable of playing both the Mike (middle) and Will (weak-side) linebacker spots, the versatile freshman has already emptied his toolbox this season. Rated as a four-star player and the No. 4 linebacker in the country, the Southern California native was tied for second on the Irish with 13 tackles, in- cluding 1 for loss, after 3 games. He also added 0.5 sacks and 1 interception. Notre Dame already features plenty of "overachiever" candidates this sea- son. But given the importance of fortifying the linebacker spots, Viliamu-Asa tops the list, especially as a true freshman. We Didn't Expect Adon Shuler To Be This Good By Jack Soble If he remained healthy, this would probably be graduate student vyper Jordan Botelho, which underscores just how brutal losing him to a knee injury was for the Irish. However, another defensive player has exceeded all expectations since the Sun Bowl ended in December: sophomore safety Adon Shuler. Liking Shuler's potential but not expecting him to be ready for a starting role quite yet, the Irish acquired Northwestern graduate transfer Rod Heard II. The veteran Heard wouldn't enroll at Notre Dame until the summer, though, giving Shuler reps with the first team. Suffice it to say, he took advantage of them. When fall camp rolled around, Heard and Shuler competed for the starting job. Shuler very quickly grabbed that job and didn't let it go. Heard didn't lose it — he's getting plenty of reps in Notre Dame's dime and big nickel packages — Shuler won it. The Irvington, N.J., native was absolutely huge in the Week 1 win over Texas A&M, intercepting a pass and totaling 3 defensive stops (tackles that result in a failure for the offense). He hasn't given up much, if anything, in coverage this season. Pro Football Focus has him targeted 7 times, allowing 3 recep- tions for 31 yards (4.42 yards per attempt). When he won the job, we expected Shuler to be a great player long-term and solid right away. But we didn't expect him to make as much of an impact as he's making right now. Point ✦ Counterpoint: WHO IS NOTRE DAME'S BIGGEST PLEASANT SURPRISE SO FAR THIS SEASON? Senior offensive lineman Pat Coogan has fol- lowed an interesting career path during his time at Notre Dame, especially over the last month or so. A backup center as a freshman and sophomore in 2021-22, Coogan appeared in only one game during those two seasons, and was relegated mainly to scout team duty. A change of position brought a fresh oppor- tunity before his junior season, and the Chicago native seized it, starting all 13 games at left guard in 2023. But football can be a cruel sport, and when sophomore Sam Pendleton won the starting left guard position during the 2024 fall camp, Coogan found himself back to being a backup, right be- fore his senior season. Down but not out, Coogan stayed on task. And when starting center Ashton Craig was lost for the season against Purdue with a knee injury, Coogan was ready and able to take over those important duties for the rest of this season. Coogan has cross-trained at guard and center throughout most of his Notre Dame career, so the position switch wasn't overwhelming. Blue & Gold Illustrated and other local media recently caught up with Coogan and asked him about losing his starting role, staying engaged as a veteran reserve, and earning another chance to become a starter. BGI: How difficult was it to lose your starting guard spot, especially as a senior? Coogan: "Losing the position was a major down, and there was obviously some dark moments and negativity. But I told myself I was going to come to the building with a positive attitude every single day, no matter what position I was in." BGI: What did you do to stick with the routine and not lose faith? Coogan: "I told myself I was going to take the challenge head on, show up and help the guys as best as I could, help those young guys because they needed my help. … Obviously, I wanted to be out there and it sucked not being out there, but it was an opportunity for me and a challenge for me, and I took it head-on." BGI: How challenging was it to stick with the plan? Coogan: "It was really hard, and it's been quite a journey. But my love for this university is so much stronger than any personal goal, or acco- lade, or representation of my own self. It sucked, but I knew for sure that I was still a huge part of this team." BGI: What's it take to be a good center? Coogan: "It just starts with communication. Quarterback communication is always first, and then it's inside out. I have to be spot on with my communication. I have to talk to those guys, and I have to be clean and crisp with how I pro- nounce it." BGI: What's your comfort level starting at a new position? Coogan: "I've always been comfortable at cen- ter. But I'm also extremely comfortable at guard. So, I think that is one of my best attributes … that I can play all three positions on the inside." — Todd D. Burlage Five Questions With … NOTRE DAME SENIOR CENTER PAT COOGAN Coogan stayed the course after losing the starting job at left guard and will now be the team's center. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER Viliamu-Asa Shuler