Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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backer Isaac Savaiinaea committed to Stanford in July, but he's labeled a "soft" verbal with interest in Notre Dame, Texas A&M and UCLA. He had been looking to get to campus for some time, particularly after hearing what the Irish have to of- fer from Punahou alumnus Manti Te'o, and was in at- tendance for Notre Dame's 20-13 defeat of the Cardinal. "The atmosphere Honolulu Punahou High inside line- was shocking," said the 6-3, 230-pound four-star player, who was hosted by Punahou graduate and senior wide re- ceiver Robby Toma. "What made the trip better was that it was College GameDay. They were covering it [top-20 show- down] and talking about how great the game was. You never get an overtime game and see a goal-line stand twice in a row. That was just crazy." Savaiinaea admitted it was bittersweet seeing the Irish finish on top. "I was happy that Notre Dame won, Irish Host One Of The Nation's Top Inside Linebackers PREP PROFILES ISAAC SAVAIINAEA 40-yard dash: 4.66 247Sports Ranking: Top player in Hawai'i, No. 2 inside linebacker nationally and No. 79 overall prospect in the land Class: 2013 Status: Committed to Stanford Position: Linebacker Ht.: 6-3 · Wt.: 230 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ Punahou High School Honolulu down to that small point … I feel happy that Stanford got that challenge and did well. But I'm also happy Notre Dame won." The Hawai'i native rated the visit a "nine" overall and said he enjoyed meeting with the coaches and learn- ing about the aca- demic prestige, similar to Stanford's reputation. Prior to arriving but I was also happy to see how well Stanford played," he added. "To have such a great team as Notre Dame, and for Stanford to stop them for pretty much the whole game and let it come I felt more comfortable at Texas A&M," Savaiinaea shared. "The thing with Notre Dame is probably Manti didn't feel comfortable, but once he started do- ing good everybody is inviting to you. If I did go to South Bend and I did well, then it would probably open up more. … I still have to debrief everything and just see how the week really went and analyze what happened. "Maybe in the future Notre Dame in South Bend, he visited Texas A&M Sept. 28, and one school stood out for him. "I felt comfortable at Notre Dame, but might be on top or even the bottom, but for now it's safe to say Texas A&M is on top [outside of his commitment to Stanford]." — Jason Sapp