SIGNED: LB Marist Liufau

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Honolulu Punahou linebacker Marist Liufau has submitted his National Letter of Intent to Notre Dame.

Rivals: 3.0 stars (No. 6 recruit in Hawai'i and No. 32 outside linebacker in the country)
BGI Grade: 4.0 (top-250 player)
Upside Grade: 4.5

Holds a personal best of 11.96 seconds in the 100-meter dash and 23.5 seconds in the 200-meter dash.

SENIOR SEASON: 40 tackles, nine tackles for a loss and eight sacks.

• Polynesian Bowl selection.
• 2017 USA Today All-Hawaii first-team selection.

POWER FIVE OFFERS: Arizona, Oregon, USC, Utah and Washington State

Liufau’s Irish recruitment began and ended quickly. The Hawaiian took an official visit to Notre Dame Nov. 10 for the Florida State game and committed to four days later.

Liufau was primarily recruited to Notre Dame by special teams and recruiting coordinator Brian Polian. The only other visit Liufau took during his process was an official trip to Boise State Oct. 6.

• Born on Feb. 9, 2000.
• Attends same high school as former Irish linebacker Manti Te’o (2009-12).
• Becomes the third Hawaiian player on Notre Dame’s roster.

Expect Liufau to redshirt as a true freshman in 2019.

Liufau is a former cornerback/safety prospect that has outgrown the position and now projects to linebacker. He brings elite length and coverage potential to the linebacker position. He has good flexibility and quick feet, and his ball skills for a linebacker are outstanding. At times he gets a bit too aggressive and grabby in coverage, but that is obviously something that can be worked on with good coaching.

Notre Dame defensive coordinator Clark Lea loves length on defense, and that is the first thing I noticed about Liufau. At 6-3 he has good height, but even more important is the fact that he combines very long arms to go with that height, and that is why I refer to length and not height as being a strength for the Notre Dame commit.

Liufau spends a lot of time at the line of scrimmage and he’s strong for a player that is just now getting to about 200 pounds. He has a tremendous frame, one that should allow him to get up to at least 225 pounds, if not more.

The Punahou standout shows a sudden burst off the edge as a pass rusher. In the box, Liufau shows nimble feet, easy change of direction ability and the ability to quickly open up and run to the sideline. His length allows him to cover a lot of ground in a hurry once he opens up and runs.

Despite his lack of size at the present moment, Liufau shows impressive hand strength and short area power. Once he adds more mass and weight room strength his box power is going to explode. Combine that with his length, coverage skills and athletic skills and you see why I gave him such a high upside grade.

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