Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MARCH 2025 59 2025 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE The linebacker graduated from JSerra Catholic in December 2024 as one of the "best football players" Santa Cruz has had. Most "blue blood" college football programs recruited his star defender, a High School Butkus Award finalist and multiple-time All-California-Southern Section honoree. More impressively, Faraimo demon- strated an uncanny ability to balance the pressures of attending a high aca- demic institution while playing in the Trinity League — perhaps the country's toughest high school football confer- ence — while deciding the outcome of a high-stakes national recruitment. Others could crumble under the pres- sure. Not Faraimo. "He had that emotional maturity to say, 'I know that this next moment matters significantly," explained Santa Cruz. "He understands the value of what is happening right in front of him." Despite wrestling with a college de- cision during his senior year, Faraimo turned in an outstanding season. He re- corded 125 total stops (49 solo stops), 3 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 pass broken up, 1 forced fumble, 1 interception and 2 blocked kicks in 10 games. JSerra Catholic finished the season 6-5. Faraimo missed one game due to a wrist injury. Still, he battled back to play the second half of the year with a cast on his left hand. The injury even caused him to wear a sling when he un- officially visited Notre Dame for the Louisville game Sept. 28. His potential and psyche made him a must-have for the Irish coaching staff, which is why they fought as hard as they could to secure his signature. "He's versatile," Notre Dame line- backers coach Max Bullough said. "He already looks like he's 30 years old. He's got a big body with big shoulders. He can run and rush the edge. He's a smart football player. And he cares. "I think the sky is the limit for him. I know he's excited for his turn." Faraimo already began to make his mark at Notre Dame by joining the team for its final three College Football Play- off games. Though incoming fresh- men were not eligible to play, he served a crucial role as one of the program's scout team players. Santa Cruz said Faraimo "loves Notre Dame and everything about it." Faraimo will resume practicing with the team in March when spring ball commences. When he does, Faraimo will look to make headway toward find- ing a role in an Irish linebackers corps that features four players who saw 300 snaps or more last season: senior Jaylen Sneed, juniors Drayk Bowen and Jaiden Ausberry, and freshman Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa. Unlike Faraimo's recruitment, his freshman season has a more predictable ending. Santa Cruz has "no doubt" that Faraimo's freshman year will conclude with him having a presence on the Notre Dame defense. "I've been blessed and fortunate to have coached a lot of good players, players that were in the NFL," he said. "Madden is one of them that stands out with that rare package of the mentality, maturity and physicality. He has it now. "He's one of those young men who is on a mission. And he's one of the good guys. I like the odds for him." ✦ "I think the sky is the limit for him. I know he's excited for his turn." NOTRE DAME LINEBACKERS COACH MAX BULLOUGH ON FARAIMO MADDEN FARAIMO LINEBACKER 6-2 ∙ 220 JSERRA CATHOLIC H.S. OCEANSIDE, CALIF. RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE Industry ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 80 4 6 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 145 13 11 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 86 4 6 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 87 11 7 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 60 5 4 STATISTICS • Recorded 125 tackles (49 solo), 3 stops for loss, 1 sack, 1 pass broken up, 1 forced fumble, 2 blocked field goals and 1 interception in 10 games in 2024. • Posted 101 tackles (42 solo), 5 stops for loss, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery in 11 games in 2023. NOTABLE • High school Butkus Award finalist in 2024. • Max Preps first-team All-American on defense in 2024. • Polynesian High School Football Player of the Year finalist in 2024. • All-CIF Southern Section Division I first-team selection in 2024. • Sporting News California All-State first-team pick as a senior. • All-CIF Southern Section Division I first-team choice in 2023. • His sister, Megan, was a three-time All-America softball pitcher at UCLA. • His brother, Matthew, plays men's volleyball for Southern Cal. RECRUITMENT • Enrolled at Notre Dame in January and began practicing with the team in December. • Committed to the Fighting Irish on Dec. 4, 2024. • Closely considered Southern Cal, Texas and Washington. • Recruited by linebackers coach Max Bullough. • Visited Notre Dame five times, including his official visit on June 7, 2024. 2025 PROJECTION • Has the ability to be a part of the linebacker rotation and at the very least be a special teams catalyst. THEY SAID IT Head coach Marcus Freeman: "He is a huge piece of what we're looking for defensively. We wanted to get three linebackers. We had two for a long time. He's the third linebacker and adds a huge piece to what we were looking for defen- sively. "He's a highly recruited kid, and I think he's a heck of a football player along with those other two guys." Linebackers coach Max Bullough: "Madden's a special kid who comes from a special family. I know he has big goals and big dreams of his own. I knew this was the best place for Madden. You recruit these guys for so long, you get to know them and understand where they come from. We knew this was the best place for him. "Obviously, it was good for us. It helped us. He's a great football player. He will be a leader on this football team once he gets his feet wet." On3 director of scouting and rankings Charles Power: "He plays with great physicality. He's at his best as a downhill run defender. Faraimo stops ball carriers on contact, is instinctive and flows to the ball. He's very physical but shows versatility in dropping into space and is solid in coverage. "At times in his career, he's been able to rush off the edge. He's a versatile linebacker and a true inside linebacker. From a skill set perspective, he's similar to Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa last cycle. Notre Dame has a type they like at linebacker, and Mad- den fits that to a tee."