SOUTH BEND, Ind. — When Junior Tuihalamaka celebrates a big play, he punches his forearm to make the shape of a ‘T.’ It’s in honor of his last name and his Tongan culture.
After Tuihalamaka recovered a critical fumble in Notre Dame’s 23-10 win over Georgia in Thursday’s College Football Playoff at the Sugar Bowl, linebacker Drayk Bowen started doing it before Tuihalamaka did. Then more of his teammates joined in.
The Tuihalamaka name didn’t have a lot of relevance in Notre Dame’s defense four months ago. He was third on the depth chart at the vyper defensive end position and only played special teams in Notre Dame’s first two games of the season.
The 6-foot-2, 255-pound junior could have started contemplating a redshirt season or a transfer portal exit in the offseason, but he remained dedicated to making an impact with the Irish.
“I knew I had an extra eligibility year if I redshirted,” Tuihalamaka said. “It did cross my mind, but this team means more than just myself. Even though if I was playing special teams, I love the guys, I love the coaches, and this university especially.
“Knowing that I was going to be that three spot, I never thought of myself being a three. I always thought of myself being a one. It was only a matter of time for me to showcase that.”
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That attitude required a good amount of self-belief from Tuihalamaka. After coming to Notre Dame as a four-star linebacker recruit out of Mission Hills (Calif.) Bishop Alemany, he transitioned to the vyper role as a freshman in 2022. Though he played defensive snaps in 11 games as a sophomore, Tuihalamaka was clearly behind graduate student Jordan Botelho and sophomore Boubacar Traore in preseason camp. He made 16 tackles in his first two seasons at Notre Dame, but it was hard to imagine his 17th coming in a meaningful defensive snap.
“Obviously, it could be hard,” Tuihalamaka said. “Going through these two years, my faith has only grown stronger with our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. It wasn’t too difficult, because I knew my time would come. Everything that I was putting on for the team, for myself, was going to come sooner or later.”
Tuihalamaka ended up being the beneficiary of unfortunate outcomes for Botelho and Traore. Botelho suffered a season-ending knee injury against Purdue in ND’s third game of the season. Traore’s season-ending knee injury came two weeks later against Louisville. That created an opportunity for Tuihalamaka to make his first start of the season (and just the second of his career) against Stanford on Oct. 12.
Even then, Tuihalamaka started splitting time at the position with junior Joshua Burnham, who began the season at the other defensive end position. The two have tag-teamed the position since then with Tuihalamaka making two more starts against Navy and Army.
“The one thing that I say about Junior and Josh is they play the design of the defense,” Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden said in October. “You know in your mind if they’re running a play, even if you don’t see the whole thing, you know where he fits and you can trust that they’re going to fit.”
Golden has praised Tuihalamaka for his smarts, his toughness and ability to diagnose plays. That’s been on display throughout the season in flashes. On multiple occasions, Tuihalamaka disrupted screens or swing passes that are designed to avoid or trick players in his position.
But what Tuihalamaka brought Notre Dame’s defense in the regular season was much more than his on-field production. In a season when Notre Dame needed to rely on reserve players to fill in for injured ones, especially on defense, Tuihalamaka repeatedly answered the bell.
“If Junior lost hope, he wouldn’t have been ready for his opportunity,” Golden said in December before the first round of the playoff. “That’s a big part of it. Being a part of something bigger than yourself. Maybe Junior might epitomize this group as much as anybody, to be honest with you, because we are not here without the way he has played and executed for us this year.”
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Tuihalamaka, who has accumulated 30 tackles, five tackles for loss, three sacks, two fumble recoveries, one interception, one pass breakup and three quarterback hurries this season, has a knack for playing the role given to him against the option offenses of Army and Navy. His first career start came in his freshman year against Navy. His two highest tackle totals of the 2024 regular season came against Navy (seven) and Army (four).
Then seemingly out of nowhere Tuihalamaka played arguably the most impactful game of his career last week against Georgia. He finished with four tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack and one fumble recovery that led to Notre Dame’s first touchdown of the game.
“I just continued to practice on my craft throughout the season,” Tuihalamaka said. “I knew that even if I was doing good through the season, I needed to get better for myself and where I want to be, so I can get to where I need to go.”
From the opening kickoff, Tuihalamaka said, he got in the zone.
“For this game, it was a natural feeling,” Tuihalamaka said. “I was just making plays and having fun out there.”
Tuihalamaka made his first tackle on Georgia’s second drive of the game. He recorded his first sack on the opening play of Georgia’s second drive in the second quarter. The Bulldogs scored the first points of the game on a field on their previous drive, so Tuihalamaka helped the Irish defense create a strong response. However, tight end Oscar Delp caught a 21-yard pass on the next play for a first down.
Delp was among the Georgia players who were talking trash to Tuihalamaka during the game.
“Yeah, I was just laughing at them the whole time,” Tuihalamaka said.
Tuihalamaka posted a photo on Instagram of him gesturing at Delp for yapping.
“I just have fun out there when people are chirping,” he said. “Because you can talk all you want, but at the end of the day you have to show me what you can do when the ball’s snapped.”
Tuihalamaka tackled quarterback Gunner Stockton for a one-yard loss on the same drive. Then his fumble recovery came late in the first half when defensive end RJ Oben knocked the ball loose from Stockton. Tuihalamaka was the first to react to the ball on the ground, but the bounce of the ball fooled him, which resulted in him crawling on the turf before diving on it.
“Honestly, I thought the ball was going to bounce to me, that’s why I kind of jumped towards it,” Tuihalamaka said. “Then I saw it rolling away, so I was like, oh shoot someone’s about to get it. Originally, I wanted to scoop and score, but next thing you know it was rolling away. I was like, yeah, let me just jump on it and make sure we get the offense a chance to score.”
The offense did exactly that with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Riley Leonard to Beaux Collins on the next play.
Notre Dame will need someone to step up and make plays again in Thursday’s College Football Playoff semifinal matchup with Penn State (13-2) hosted by the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. (7:30 p.m. EST on ESPN). There’s no telling who it could end up being. And that’s the message head coach Marcus Freeman will continue to share with his team. He wants everyone to prepare for the opportunity, so any of them can seize it like Tuihalamaka did.
“I love it for him,” Freeman said. “I love the example that he sets for our entire program.”
Tuihalamaka isn’t ready to stop now. He didn’t work in the shadows for one game in the spotlight. There’s two more to win for Notre Dame to reach its ultimate goal.
“I’m blessed for the outcome that it was for myself, but I can’t get too complacent,” Tuihalamaka said. “That’s not the goal for me or for this whole team. We’re trying to win a national championship.
“After the Sugar Bowl, it was all happy and everything, but once we got back, we got to get ready for the next game.”
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