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Newsstand: Notre Dame player named among true freshmen standouts of the week

Singer headshotby:Mike Singer•09/17/24•

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Each week during the college football season, On3 Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power releases his true freshman standouts of the week. And a Notre Dame player made his Week 3 list.

And it was non other than Kygnstonn Viliamu-Asa, who had a strong outing in a 66-7 triumph for the Fighting Irish over Purdue on Saturday.

“Viliamu-Asa turned in one of the better true freshman performances along the defensive side of the ball in week three,” Power wrote. “The inside linebacker was credited with three assists, one sack and interception in Notre Dame’s route of Purdue. Viliamu-Asa’s interception came in the fourth quarter off of a tipped pass. The On3 Preseason True Freshman All-American has already flashed on multiple occasions for the Irish this season, showing the instincts and propensity for being around the football that made him a four-star prospect.”

The former four-star prospect isn’t the first ND player to make Power’s list; first-year left tackle Anthonie Knapp made the cut for his performance against Texas A&M.

Viliamu-Asa was named Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award preseason watch list in late August.

He had a monster senior season at Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco, posting 114 tackles (56 solo), 13 tackles for loss, 3 pass breakups, 1.5 sacks, a fumble recovery and an interception. 

Viliamu-Asa was named the Southern Section All-CIF Defensive Player of the Year as a junior in 2022. He earned the recognition after making big play after big play, including against archrival Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei. In a postseason matchup of California football juggernauts, Viliamu-Asa led the Braves with 7.5 tackles, 2.5 tackles for a loss and 1.5 sacks. He also had a key fumble recovery in the Open Division state title game against Serra.

Notre Dame tweets of the week

Quote of the day

“That was the offense we felt gave us the best to succeed vs. Purdue and that fit his skillset and what we thought he did best. This week we have to continue to do that in terms of what we feel will give the best chance for our offense to succeed, including Riley, vs. this defense. It’s a different defense than what we saw last week. Every week as you go into preparation you have to take into consideration what your guys can do well but also what’s going to help you have success vs. the defense you’re going against.”

— Irish head coach Marcus Freeman on playing to Riley Leonard’s strength on offense

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