Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 1 game
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 2 | W 52-0vs Rice | 5 | 2 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 5 tackles |
| Total | 5 | 2 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#27
Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa
Before a torn ACL ended his year, Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa was PFF's third-graded linebacker in the country. Healthy, he's a Butkus dark horse anchoring a deep Notre Dame defense. The comeback is the story.
6′3″ · 230 lb · Inland Empire, CA · St. John Bosco
CFB Index 72 · #111 of 583 LBsHigh confidenceNational watchReturning to Notre Dame for 2026
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
On production he ranks #111 of 583 LBs; on reputation he is on a national watch list. The gap between those two numbers is the story.
The numbers
5
tackles · 2026
1.5 TFL
1 game into 2026 so far -- Best game: 5 tackles, 1.5 TFL, vs Rice
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Before a torn ACL ended his year, Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa was PFF's third-graded linebacker in the country. Healthy, he's a Butkus dark horse anchoring a deep Notre Dame defense. The comeback is the story.
- Signed as a 4-star recruit to Notre Dame in 2024.
- Named Preseason All-America in 2026.
Before a torn ACL ended his year, Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa was PFF's third-graded linebacker in the country. Healthy, he's a Butkus dark horse anchoring a deep Notre Dame defense. The comeback is the story.
Through 11 games in 2025, Viliamu-Asa was one of the best linebackers in the country by the grades — 48 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, three sacks and an interception, with PFF rating him third nationally at the position — before a season-ending ACL tear cut it off. At 6-3, 230 he's a fast, physical downhill backer who's spent his rehab as a coach-on-the-field mentor. The forward stakes carry an honest caveat: Notre Dame expects him back for the start of the season, but a December ACL means Week 1 availability is worth confirming closer to fall. If he's right, a top-three-graded linebacker returning to a deep room is a Butkus dark horse and the centerpiece of the Irish defense.
How he plays
Viliamu-Asa is a fast, physical, downhill linebacker — the PFF grade (third nationally before the injury) reflects a player who's rarely wrong and always around the ball. At 6-3, 230 he triggers quickly against the run and has the range to make plays sideline to sideline, with the production (7.5 TFL, three sacks, an interception in 11 games) of a complete three-down backer. The honest framing for 2026 is the knee: this is a projection built on elite pre-injury tape plus an expected healthy return, not on 2025 production he was able to finish. If the explosiveness comes all the way back, the ceiling is one of the best linebackers in the country.
The story
Through 11 games in 2025, Viliamu-Asa was one of the best linebackers in the country by the grades -- 48 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, three sacks and an interception, with PFF rating him third nationally at the position -- before a season-ending ACL tear cut it off. At 6-3, 230 he's a fast, physical downhill backer who's spent his rehab as a coach-on-the-field mentor. The forward stakes carry an honest caveat: Notre Dame expects him back for the start of the season, but a December ACL means Week 1 availability is worth confirming closer to fall. If he's right, a top-three-graded linebacker returning to a deep room is a Butkus dark horse and the centerpiece of the Irish defense.
His career
He arrived as a blue-chip recruit and played like one.
Viliamu-Asa is a fast, physical, downhill linebacker -- the PFF grade (third nationally before the injury) reflects a player who's rarely wrong and always around the ball. At 6-3, 230 he triggers quickly against the run and has the range to make plays sideline to sideline, with the production (7.5 TFL, three sacks, an interception in 11 games) of a complete three-down backer. The honest framing for 2026 is the knee: this is a projection built on elite pre-injury tape plus an expected healthy return, not on 2025 production he was able to finish. If the explosiveness comes all the way back, the ceiling is one of the best linebackers in the country.
Written by our staff.
202412 games
- Signed with Notre Dame4-star out of St. John Bosco
2026
- Preseason All-AmericaSecond Team
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★★
CFB
College
Notre Dame
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
🥇
ALL-AMERICA
All-America honors (2026)
1 mentions across the selector pool
Badges
- Honors Badge
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
1 coach2024–2026
Notre Dame
Played his entire career under Marcus Freeman.
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
3 seasons under Marcus Freeman — 26-4 over that span.
2024Notre Dame14-2HC: Marcus Freeman · Run-leaning
2025Notre Dame10-2HC: Marcus Freeman · Run-leaning, slow tempo
2026Notre Dame2-0HC: Marcus Freeman · Balanced
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
High confidenceAscending
Concern: tackles (0th percentile).
Box-score production (7)
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits & context
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 1 game: 5.0 TKL/g, 1.5 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 0.0 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Marcus Freeman
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2025
Rotational
Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Production · CFB Index Score
72 · #111 of 583 LBs
Former four-star. Now #111 at the position.
Selector Grid · 2026
AP—
FWAA—
AFCA—
WCFF—
SN—
SI—
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Notre Dame | 5 | 2 | 1.5 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Notre Dame | 48 | 25 | 7.5 | 3.0 | 2 | 1 | -- |
| 2024 | Notre Dame | 38 | 9 | 3.0 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | -- |
| Career | 91 | 36 | 12.0 | 4.5 | 3 | 2 | -- |
Game log
How he plays
Play style
Viliamu-Asa is a fast, physical, downhill linebacker -- the PFF grade (third nationally before the injury) reflects a player who's rarely wrong and always around the ball. At 6-3, 230 he triggers quickly against the run and has the range to make plays sideline to sideline, with the production (7.5 TFL, three sacks, an interception in 11 games) of a complete three-down backer. The honest framing for 2026 is the knee: this is a projection built on elite pre-injury tape plus an expected healthy return, not on 2025 production he was able to finish. If the explosiveness comes all the way back, the ceiling is one of the best linebackers in the country.
Our classifier reads him the same way: is steady in every phase without a signature trait.
2026 Outlook
Notre Dame
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Linebacker · Notre Dame
Returning around him
- 6 Notre Dame players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: -9 net (7 in / 16 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Notre Dame · Last season: 10-2 (AP #9) · Talent rank #6 · 2026 recruiting class #5
DNA match
Player DNA
Balanced Linebacker
Solid in every phase without a signature dimension.
LB
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Matt Kingsbury’s 2025 season.
Matches Matt on
Sack rate
TFL rate
Solo tackle rate
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Charlie Gray's sophomore season at Marshall (2021).
Matches Charlie on
Solo tackle rate
Tackle volume
Weight
Differs from Charlie on
PD rate (higher)
Player DNA
Players who play like Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa
The linebacker corps · Notre Dame
- #34Drayk Bowen67 tackles · 2025
- #4Jaiden Ausberry51 tackles · 2025
- #27Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa48 tackles · 2025
- #3Jaylen Sneed35 tackles · 2025
- #19Madden Faraimo16 tackles · 2025
6 more on the roster · Notre Dame team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology