Notre Dame freshmen Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, Anthony Rezac given high HS football honor
Notre Dame freshmen Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa and Anthony Rezac were named to the National Football Foundation 2024 Team of Distinction, the Irish announced Tuesday.
Viliamu-Asa, a linebacker, and Rezac, a walk-on quarterback, are two of 84 incoming college freshmen selected out of a pool of 3,500. The Team of Distinction recognizes high school seniors for their “academic achievement, athletic accolades and community involvement,” with one honoree representing each NFF chapter.
Representing the NFF Los Angeles Chapter is Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco’s Viliamu-Asa, who posted a 4.28 high school GPA and made the Principal’s Honor Roll in each of his four high school years. He was also a finalist for the 2023 Butkus Award, which recognizes the best linebacker at the high school, college and professional levels.
After his senior season, Viliamu-Asa had totaled 253 tackles (110 solo), 22.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks and 2 interceptions (both were returned for touchdowns) at St. John Bosco.
The NFF Nebraska Chapter’s representative is Rezac, whose GPA at Omaha (Neb.) Westside was 3.89. He made academic all-state twice, and he was a member of the student council as well.
On the field, Rezac was the Nebraska Gatorade Player of the Year. He and his brother, Notre Dame freshman linebacker Teddy Rezac, led Westside to its third state championship in four years. They defeated Omaha (Neb.) Elkhorn South 56-0 in the state title game.
At Notre Dame, Viliamu-Asa enrolled in January and is expected to be a major defensive contributor in Year 1. He may not start — sophomore linebacker Drayk Bowen currently holds the middle (“Mike”) linebacker position — but he’ll play significant snaps regardless.
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Viliamu-Asa is the No. 43 player and No. 4 linebacker in the 2024 On3 Industry Ranking. He selected the Irish over Ohio State and USC, following a church retreat that could turn out to be one of the most important of its kind in Notre Dame history.
“It was really tight,” Viliamu-Asa told Blue & Gold’s Mike Singer in February. “It could’ve gone any of the three ways.”
Rezac had scholarship offers from Ivy League schools such as Harvard, Yale and Dartmouth, as well as service academies like Army, Navy and Air Force. But he chose to walk on at Notre Dame, and he and his brother both enrolled in June.
“I think that’s what Teddy and Anthony bring to the table, whether they end up being multiple-year starters at Notre Dame or they end up being role players or whatever they do,” DJ Rezac, Anthony and Teddy’s dad, told Blue & Gold. “They’re gonna add some toughness to any program they’re a part of.”
Notre Dame began summer workouts in early June, and the Irish will be back on the field for fall camp July 31.
