Ohio State saw its top remaining linebacker target head elsewhere on Sunday.
Four-star California prospect Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa picked Notre Dame over Ohio State, as the Buckeyes couldn't haul in the St. John Bosco product.
Viliamu-Asa narrowed his choices down to Notre Dame, USC and OSU, and took official visits to each school. He was recently seen wearing OSU gloves at public workouts on several occasions, and Ohio State sources were confident as of this past week that Viliamu-Asa would join the Buckeyes. But he ultimately decided to go with the Fighting Irish instead.
“Notre Dame is a special place. It’s a place where I don‘t gotta compromise. I can get the best of both worlds with my education and football opportunity. This last week I’ve really been praying, and I felt like God led me to choose Notre Dame,” Viliamu-Asa said after announcing his commitment on 247Sports.
The 102nd-ranked prospect in 247Sports’ composite rankings was the first player in the entire 2024 class to receive an offer from Ohio State in April 2021, but the Buckeyes’ two-plus years of recruiting him ultimately weren’t enough to keep him away from South Bend.
Ohio State has two linebackers committed in the 2024 class in Garrett Stover and Payton Pierce. The Buckeyes will now have to decide whether to ramp up their pursuit of other linebacker prospects after their other top remaining target at the position, Edwin Spillman, committed to Tennessee Friday.
