Notre Dame Linebacker Ko'o Kia Is Taking Advantage Of Every Opportunity This Spring

With the amount of injuries this spring to the Notre Dame linebacking corps, there's been players that have been called upon, and have the opportunity, to step up. Rising redshirt freshman Ko'o Kia , the younger brother of Fighting Irish linebacker Kahanu Kia , has taken advantage of every opportunity that's come his way. There's still a long road ahead before he cracks the five-man rotation that's returning this fall, but Kia has been putting in the work this offseason.

"I think it's a huge opportunity for me to develop, and just get a lot of reps," Kia shared when asked about the amount of linebackers out this spring. "We have, obviously, a really good linebacker room, and it’s very loaded. So last year as a freshman, coming in June, I didn’t get many reps.

But it’s been good for my development right now. " This has been the deepest the Notre Dame linebacking room has been in quite some time when you consider they bring back captain Drayk Bowen , Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa , Jaiden Ausberry , Jaylen Sneed and Madden Faraimo who were all a part of the rotation, or started, in 2025. The talent and experience in this room is unlike anything I've seen in South Bend in a long time, but Kia is confident in the skillset he brings to the room.

"I think the biggest thing for me is physicality," Kia answered when asked what he brings to the table in the linebacker room. "I'm always going to come with a lot of violence. Coming from Hawaii, we like to think of it as our trademark.