Earlier this week, Notre Dame announced that they would be without one of their best defensive players for the rest of the season. Standout sophomore linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa suffered a knee injury in the first half against Syracuse which will sideline him for the rest of the 2025 season. This season, Viliamu-Asa has racked up 48 total tackles, 7.5 tackles for a loss, 3.0 sacks, one interceptions, two pass breakups, 25 total defensive stops and 24 total pressures on the quarterback.
He won't be an easy player to replace, and like we heard this offseason around the defensive line, replacing his production will be a collective effort and not reliant on just one person. Earlier this week, head coach Marcus Freeman talked about the impact of losing a player like Kyngstonn.
"He was playing at such a high level," Freeman acknowledged. "You feel awful for him because he puts a lot into it. I was talking to his mom this morning. Everybody evaluates what he does outside his performance, but this challenge is going to be one that he's going to have to face inside. But he's built the right way."
"His mom is a strong woman that has really instilled valuable inside skills," Freeman continued. "We'll be on the journey with him as he recovers from this injury, but he's got a bright future. But you know that right now, it's just tough with a season-ending injury."
Defensive coordinator Chris Ash, who took over in the offseason, also acknowledged how big of an impact Viliamu-Asa had on this defense.
"We love Kyngstonn, Kyng's a great player; he's one of the best players I've been around," Ash said about his star sophomore linebacker. "We're going to miss him, but we have some other great linebackers that have played really well this season."
Ash will be relying on a host of different linebackers to make an impact on defense to fill the void left by Kyngstonn's injury. Redshirt sophomore Jaiden Ausberry, redshirt junior Jaylen Sneed and true freshman Madden Faraimo are all ready to take on a bigger role.
"Madden has been out here getting a lot of reps every day at practice so we see him every single day," Ash said about the freshman linebacker. "He's not on the sideline just watching, he's getting a lot of reps. He's played some meaningful snaps in games; we just think it's time for him to be ready. It's next man up."
Monday night, we had a chance to hear from some players and coordinators ahead of their final regular season matchup. Faraimo was one of those players. He's played in seven games this season on defense and racked up 122 snaps. He's been credited with six defensive stops and recorded his first career sack this past weekend against Syracuse.
"I think with each week, you learn more," Faraimo said when asked if he knew the moment when the game slowed down. "The game starts to slow down a little bit, you get a little more comfortable being in each spot. I think it's a cumulation of each week."
It won't be easy replacing a talent like Viliamu-Asa and his impact will be missed on the field. Thankfully, the Irish have one of the deepest linebacker rooms in the country and all three of Sneed, Ausberry and now Faraimo have significant experience on the field. Saturday night against Stanford will be their first test.
-------
Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!