The Gold Standard: Intel on Notre Dame’s 2024 class after huge Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa commitment

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish staff got big news over the weekend when Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco class of 2024 linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa picked their program over Ohio State and USC. There’s such excitement about the ND class with him in the fold, and the Irish are still working to finish the class strong.

Blue & Gold recruiting insider Mike Singer shares what he’s hearing from sources about the Irish’s efforts in 2024.

*** Justin Scott was viewed by the public as the most important target on the defensive board in large part because he’s a five-star player from Chicago. And while he was — and still is — a huge target for the Irish, everything I’ve gathered for months is that Viliamu-Asa was the most crucial prospect for the staff. Now granted, this is mostly semantics as the staff went after both players extremely hard, but it does shed light as to how valued of a pick up Viliamu-Asa is. In talking with sources Monday morning, I’m told the mood in the Gug is extremely upbeat. Notre Dame feels it just got a monumental boost to the future of its defense. It’s arguably the staff’s biggest recruiting win in the Marcus Freeman era. Irish sources agreed with our own Mike Goolsby that Viliamu-Asa could make a big impact as a true freshman.

*** Just a couple weeks ago, Viliamu-Asa was openly told coaches recruiting him that he was leaning towards Ohio State. He really loved his time in Columbus during his June official visit. But Notre Dame played its cards right and wanted Viliamu-Asa to take his time on making a decision and to really ponder his choices. That was key, as after Viliamu-Asa did just that and took a church retreat last week, he came away feeling Notre Dame was the place for him.

In the middle of last week, Notre Dame pulled ahead in Viliamu-Asa’s mind per sources, but the staff hadn’t gotten final word yet. They hoped to get the positive news from Viliamu-Asa himself Friday, but the elite linebacker was silent that day. Notre Dame must have felt some nerves that day, but on Saturday evening, Viliamu-Asa set up a FaceTime call with several Irish coaches to inform them of his decision to choose the Irish.

His message to the staff about why he was picking Notre Dame — saying that he wanted to pick the “hardest” choice and other things he had to say — had some members of the staff in tears. It was truly a surreal moment for folks on the call. The human aspect of this commitment has people as excited as what ND is getting in the player.

*** So, what’s left on the 2024 board? After landing Logan Saldate and Viliamu-Asa in recent days, the receiver and linebacker spots are done. The staff may keep tabs on four-star linebacker Bradley Shaw, but I’d imagine he ends up elsewhere. Notre Dame has hit its mark at every position and heads into fall camp in a really good spot. The Irish have 22 commitments, and as things stand, there are really just four names to know left in the 2024 class.

The aforementioned Scott is one of them. I don’t get the sense that it’ll be likely that the Irish pull off the flip, but communication is at least still ongoing. The case is the same with Tennessee cornerback commit Kaleb Beasley. Notre Dame would love to have him and is playing the long game with him. With both Scott and Beasley, we may get a better idea as to the Irish’s chances with both based on their travel plans for the weekend of the OSU-ND game.

American Fork (Utah) High safety Davis Andrews visits Notre Dame this weekend, and it’s likely for the win. I like the Irish to land him in the near future, but he could stretch his recruitment into the fall. As we’ve reported a bunch on in recent weeks, Andrews will take a two-year Mormon mission trip after graduating high school, so he’s really a 2026 prospect.

And of course, the staff is after West Roxbury (Mass.) Catholic Memorial’s Guerby Lambert. The Irish have three offensive line commits like they intended to have, but Lambert is obviously way too good not to pursue. It’s still not a done deal yet, but I’m only getting more confident that it’ll happen for the Irish. Everything continues to trend in a positive direction for Notre Dame to land Lambert.

*** Adding Lambert to this top-heavy class would be enormous. Irish sources feel that Lambert’s upside could make him the best offensive tackle prospect in this class. There’s also a ton of excitement about commits who may not be getting as much fan fare. Folks in South Bend believe that Round Rock (Texas) High’s Leonard Moore is easily a top-10 cornerback in the class. There’s a lot of excitement about the upside of Fort Wayne (Ind.) North Side safety Tae Johnson. Notre Dame is fired up about the defensive line class even without Scott. The offensive class speaks for itself.

Omaha (Neb.) Westside linebacker Teddy Rezac and Chandler (Ariz.) High safety Kennedy Urlacher are two more players who sources in South Bend are buzzing about. They absolutely believe that Urlacher will be a safety at the next level and feel strongly about his talents. Rezac is another who they feel very confidently will be a stud in college.

*** Notre Dame has already had a few decommitments in the 2024 cycle, but there is a feeling that every prospect in this current group will stick. The class is tight, and their current actions express that they’re not interested in other programs. Time will tell but that’s certainly what you want to hear if you’re a Notre Dame fan.

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