What Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa's Injury Means For Notre Dame Football

The score may suggest so, but Notre Dame's 70-7 win Saturday over Syracuse wasn't all positive.

The Fighting Irish lost Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, one of the team's most valuable players, to a season-ending left knee injury.

The sophomore linebacker ranks second among Notre Dame defenders with 7.5 tackles for loss, tied for second with three sacks and tied for third with 48 tackles. He also intercepted one pass and recovered one fumble in 11 games.

"King, he was playing at such a high level. You feel awful for him because he puts a lot into it," Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said Monday. "I was talking to his mom this morning, and outside –– everybody evaluates what he does outside, his performance –– but this challenge is gonna be one that he's gonna have to face inside."

"But he's built the right way. His mom is a strong woman that has really instilled valuable inside skills. I always talk about what's on the inside. So we'll be on the journey with him as he recovers from this injury, but he's got a bright future. He's got a bright future, but you just know that right now it's just tough as you go through the situation he's going through with a season-ending injury."

Who steps up in Viliamu-Asa's absence?

Madden Faraimo Notre Dame Football — Notre Dame linebacker Madden Faraimo during the Notre Dame Blue-Gold spring football game at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, April 12, 2025, in South Bend. | MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Heading into the Syracuse game, Viliamu-Asa was listed as the second-string Mike linebacker behind Drayk Bowen on Notre Dame's depth chart. Now approaching a trip to Stanford, just two players are listed at the Mike linebacker position: Bowen and freshman Madden Faraimo. The same three Will linebackers are listed as last week: Jaiden Ausberry, Jaylen Sneed and Faraimo.

Bowen leads the Fighting Irish with 60 tackles, and Ausberry and Sneed rank fifth and eighth, respectively. They're also among the team leaders in tackles for loss and sacks.

Freeman also mentioned the roles of freshman Madden Faraimo and sophomore Kahanu Kia will increase in Viliamu's absence. At 6-foot-2 and 230 pounds, Faraimo has appeared in 11 games and made 14 tackles, along with two tackles for loss and a sack. He joined the Irish as a four-star recruit out of Oceanside, Calif.

"[Faraimo] is an ascending player, right, and the more he's out there the better he continues to play," Freeman said. "He's preparing in a really positive way. I think the greatest thing Kyng did for Madden was they hung out a lot, so Madden learned how to prepare in a similar way that Kyng did."

"But he's getting better, he's getting better in all facets of playing the linebacker position. And he's doing a really good job of doing what we're asking him to do on special teams. So his role will increase, as well as Kahanu Kia's and as well as some of those other guys that have been playing."

Notre Dame linebacker Kahanu Kia (43) at the Notre Dame Blue-Gold spring football game at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend. | MANDATORY CREDIT GREG SWIERCZ / USA TODAY NETWORK

Kia's freshman season was all the way back in 2021, but he went on a mission during the 2022 and 2023 seasons and missed the 2024 season due to injury. At 6-foot-2 and 230 pounds, he's appeared in 11 games this season and has made nine tackles.

So while Viliamu-Asa has been a key player and will be missed, the Notre Dame linebacking corps still has several experienced and talented players to fill in.

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