Notre Dame Looking To Strike In Hawaii Once Again
Honolulu Punahou’s Teva Tafiti is listed by Rivals as a weak-side defensive end, but it is hard to pin the 6-3, 205-pounder under the umbrella of one position. One thing is for certain — he is really good at getting after the quarterback and is always around the football.
Tafiti, a class of 2022 recruit, holds around a dozen scholarships and his big-time offers have come in the past three months.
“During quarantine, it kind of went off,” Tafiti said. “I was happy for that. There was time where it cooled down, but it’s coming back up.”
His most recent scholarship offer comes from Notre Dame, as the Fighting Irish extended the good news to him June 11.
“I met Coach [Brian] Polian when I was a freshman when he came to see [current Notre Dame linebacker] Marist [Liufau],” Tafiti said. “When Marist played, he was a senior and I was a freshman on the same. Our head coach introduced me to Coach Polian, and they showed some interest. I sent them my film again and they really liked it.
“[Polian] was telling me how he likes Hawaii kids, especially from Punahou with the guys we’ve had go to Notre Dame, like Marist, Manti [Te’o], [Robby] Toma and more.”
Notre Dame is far from home for Tafiti, but that clearly hasn’t stopped the Irish from landing prospects from Hawaii over the years. There are the three Tafiti mentioned, plus Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, Alohi Gilman, Jordan Botelho among recent players for the Irish. Notre Dame also hopes to add Ewa Beach (Hawaii) Campbell athlete Titus Mokiao-Atimalala in the 2021 class.
“Yeah it’s really important,” Tafiti said about having those relationships. “I know that they’re really good in their academics too, and I’m blessed to receive an offer.”
The only college Tafiti has been able to see on the mainland is USC several months back. He hopes to get out to Stanford and Utah on the West Coast, and also make trips to Michigan, Notre Dame and Wisconsin in the Midwest.
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