Honolulu Punahou class of 2021 linebacker Kahanu Kia is doing something that not many people ever want to do — leave the Hawaiian Islands.
Kia arrived in Utah Oct. 29 for a padded football camp and spent several days in that state, which included seeing family and visiting the Utes’ campus. On this past Thursday, Kia flew to South Bend to spend a couple of days at Notre Dame.
He and his family spent a few hours on campus Friday and drove around South Bend. He did more of the same Saturday and visited some of the best restaurants in the area.
Recruits in the midst of an NCAA dead period due to the coronavirus pandemic, which does not allow face-to-face contact between prospective student-athletes and college coaches. However, Kia was able to meet some other people while on Notre Dame’s campus.
“We talked to some of the students,” Kia said. “They love it there. Football is huge there. That was one thing that stood out — it’s a great school but football is definitely important. We got to be around there on Saturday and it was electric. That’s the only way to describe it.”
Kia wanted to see the “vibe” of Notre Dame’s campus, and he liked what he saw.
“Obviously I couldn’t go into the Gug or see the coaches, but I wanted to see everything that I could see — how the campus atmosphere is and the town around it. I got a good picture of it.”
He spent some time talking on the phone with the Irish coaches while in South Bend too.
“They were excited for me to be out there and telling me places to eat and things like that,” noted Kia. “It was cool.”
Notre Dame toppled previously No. 1 ranked Clemson 47-40 in double overtimes — arguably the biggest victory of the Brian Kelly era. Kia was thrilled to be in town during the game.
“Oh my gosh. I can’t even explain it,” Kia said. “I’m just so happy for the team. The conversation had been ‘Notre Dame never wins the big one’ but shoot, they beat the No. 1 team and I was in town. It was insane.”
The Hawaiian native was in town for some good weather too.
“It’s beautiful right now. I’m looking outside right now, and it looks like Hawaii,” he said with a laugh. “It’s just a little bit colder, but it’s nice.”
Kia left the Midwest on Sunday afternoon to head to California. He’ll spend a few days in the Golden State, which will include stops at Stanford and UCLA, before heading back to Hawaii on Friday.
While in the United States mainland, he’ll have visited Notre Dame, Stanford, UCLA and Utah – the four schools that he’s considering for a commitment.
“I think I’ll be in a good place to really start deciding and making my commitment after this week after my two trips in California,” he said. “Maybe soon after this week I’ll have a good idea about my commitment.
“It’s going to be tough decision man.”
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