Kahanu Kia

The story around Kia isn't a Heisman or a draft slot — it's perspective. Beat writers keep circling the same arc: a 2021 signee out of Punahou who stepped away for a two-year mission in North Carolina, returned, then had ACL surgery wipe out his entire 2024. His 2025 was a slow re-introduction — all 12 games, 33 defensive snaps, 9 tackles — and the staff's read was a player getting visibly better week to week. "I just want to reach my full potential," he told Irish Sports Daily, framing 2026 as maximizing his role "whatever that is every given week."

The catch is the room. Notre Dame returns what several outlets are calling the deepest linebacker corps in the country — Drayk Bowen, Jaiden Ausberry, Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, Jaylen Sneed, Madden Faraimo all ahead of or around him. Kia entered spring on the back of a left-knee scope (a cleanup procedure a couple weeks before practice) and was limited early, which didn't help his climb. He's a depth piece on a team chasing a title, not a projected starter.

So the forward stake is honest and small-bore: on a defense this stacked, can a 25-year-old with a mission, an ACL, and a knee scope behind him turn 33 snaps into a real rotational role in 2026 — and contribute on special teams while the room churns? It's not the loudest Notre Dame story. It might be the most human one.