Notre Dame football's 2024 recruiting class has its first five-star commitment in Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa.
Rivals released its new crop of five-stars in the 2024 class on Monday, and the Irish linebacker was one of three linebackers — alongside Georgia commit Justin Williams and Florida commit Myles Graham — to receive five-star designations. Viliamu-Asa is now the No. 21 overall player in the class, 10 spots higher than his previous ranking in the Rivals250.
The Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco recruit received a new 6.1 rating, which makes him fall under the label of a franchise player. According to the Rivals football team recruiting rankings formula, Viliamu-Asa is "considered one of the elite prospects in the country, generally among the nation's top 30-35 players overall, a potential first-team All American candidate and a player deemed to have first round NFL potential."
Viliamu-Asa committed to Notre Dame and head coach Marcus Freeman in July over finalists Ohio State and USC. He visited campus three times this season, including for Notre Dame's home finale against Wake Forest. Viliamu-Asa plans to sign with the Irish during the three-day early signing period starting Dec. 20 and enroll early in January, although the Buckeyes and graduate assistant James Laurinaitis have continued pushing for Viliamu-Asa's commitment.
Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney saw Viliamu-Asa play live this fall and left believing the 6-foot-3, 227-pound recruit was one of the best prospects he saw on the West Coast regardless of position.
"There are some at Bosco who’ve told me that Viliamu-Asa is the best defensive player in program history, and as this season has unfolded it’s definitely believable because he has power and speed to make plays all over the field and he has superstar potential once he gets in Notre Dame's defense," Gorney said.
As a senior, Viliamu-Asa led St. John Bosco with 114 tackles including 56 solo and 13 for loss. He also had one sack, one interception and three passes defended. Viliamu-Asa is one of the five high school finalists for the Butkus Award, which freshman linebacker Dryak Bowen won last season. Since 2012, Notre Dame has had three Butkus Award winners at the collegiate level: Manti Te'o (2012), Jaylon Smith (2015) and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (2020).
The Irish haven't signed a Rivals five-star recruit since the 2021 class, when offensive tackle Blake Fisher earned the status while coming out of Avon (Ind.) High. Daelin Hayes was the last five-star linebacker the Irish signed back in 2012 out of Ann Arbor (Mich.) Skyline. He played defensive end for the Irish.
After Notre Dame's loss to Ohio State in Oct., Viliamu-Asa expressed excitement about the program's future despite the loss in a reaction thread on The Insider Lounge. In previous interviews, Viliamu-Asa has stated he plans on attending the Mendoza College of Business and setting an example for younger Polynesian kids with his actions off the field at Notre Dame.
On the field, Viliamu-Asa is expected to make up a three-man linebacker class of four-star Bodie Kahoun and three-star Teddy Rezac. Defensive coordinator Al Golden and graduate assistant Max Bullough are expected to lose two starting linebackers, JD Bertrand and Marist Liufau to the NFL Draft. Notre Dame's third starting linebacker, Jack Kiser, hasn't announced a decision regarding his future.
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