Notre Dame football pulled another elite linebacker out of California.

The Irish landed five-star linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa out of Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco in the 2024 class. And for months it seemed like the Irish were the top contender to add four-star linebacker Madden Faraimo to their 2025 class.

The late buzz around the 6-foot-3, 233-pound senior at San Juan Capistrano (Calif.) JSerra Catholic suggested Faraimo may opt to stay closer to home and sign with USC on Wednesday. But that didn't happen. Faraimo signed with the Irish on Wednesday afternoon, head coach Marcus Freeman announced at his press conference.

Faraimo didn't even make a public announcement of his own as of Wednesday afternoon. He let Freeman share the news with world.

"It's been a really good morning," Freeman said to open his press conference. "Just got a call about 10, 15 minutes ago as we were coming over here that Madden Faraimo, his papers just came in and he signed. So that was a huge get for us that obviously came down to the last minute."

Faraimo made his official visit to USC this past weekend, which coincided with Notre Dame beating the Trojans, 49-35, in Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. It was Faraimo's third time watching a Notre Dame victory in person after attending Irish home wins over Louisville and Florida State earlier this season.

Notre Dame's pursuit of Faraimo started with a scholarship offer on St. Patrick's Day in 2023 as part of the program's Pot of Gold Day. After Faraimo's first visit to Notre Dame in June of that year, it became clear how much of a priority he would become for the Irish.

With every ensuing visit, which reached five, Faraimo seemed to grow more comfortable with the idea of making the long-distance decision of joining Notre Dame's program. The Irish have been recruiting linebackers at a high level under head coach Marcus Freeman, defensive coordinator Al Golden and linebackers coach Max Bullough. And seeing Viliamu-Asa play as a freshman should have only given Faraimo more reason to buy into his fit at Notre Dame.

USC had an even longer connection with Faraimo. The Trojans offered the in-state standout in 2022, and his older brother, Matt, played volleyball at USC from 2017-20. Faraimo's older sister, chose to stay in state as well as a softball player at UCLA from 2019-23. So, it wasn't going to be easy to get Madden to leave California.

USC will be looking to replace both of its starting linebackers from the 2024 season with Mason Cobb and Easton Mascarenas-Arnold exhausting their NCAA eligibility. That could have presented a clearer path to early playing time with the Trojans.

Freeman challenged Faraimo to choose hard. During conversations Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, Faraimo still hadn't made up his mind. Then he made the call to Notre Dame.

"Well, I heard Coach Freeman screaming, so I didn't know if something was going on," said Notre Dame football general manager Chad Bowden. "I really wanted to check on him. But no, we were fired up. The whole staff came out. Everyone was hugging each other. It was a really special moment, a moment I'll never forget."

The message Faraimo gave Freeman really resonated with him.

"He said, 'Coach, I chose God,'" Freeman relayed. "I thought that was a powerful statement and speaks volumes about the young man and his family. One of those ones that came down to the last minute, and until the papers came in, you still were on pins and needles."

Faraimo missed some time during his senior season due to a wrist injury, but he played the last few games with a cast protecting it. He totaled 113 tackles, three tackles for loss and one interception in nine games. Rivals ranks Faraimo as the No. 4 outside linebacker and No. 53 overall in the 2025 class.

"Massive win for Notre Dame," said Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney. "That can’t be overstated. He may be the best linebacker in the class. He’s built like Adonis.

"It’s easy to compare him to Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, but they’re very similar players. Viliamu-Asa’s a little more fluid, but Faraimo can cover ground. He started his career as a safety and then moved down as he got bigger and bigger. But he plays very physically, very violently, gets after the ball, can play in space, can play downhill. Just a tough hard-nosed kid.

"Now when you talk to him off the field, you can hardly him talk. He’s very deliberate, very quiet. But he definitely turns it on when he gets on the field."

Faraimo has yet to publicly fill in the blanks on what led to his Wednesday decision, but it's easy to wonder if USC linebackers coach Matt Entz's reported Wednesday departure to become Fresno State's head coach played a role in Faraimo's decision.

"This was sort of a total surprise," Gorney said. "From the Notre Dame side, they felt like it was USC. From the USC side, they felt like it was USC up until maybe this morning when Matt Entz took that Fresno State job.

"I know that Kyngstonn had talked with him before and talked to others about this as well. Sometimes you have to leave to make your biggest statement. I think that kind of made an impact on him as well.

"I know he was up for the challenge of Notre Dame, for the weather change, for the academics, for everything that comes with it. I think as it got closer, he started getting that home feeling again and he had been to USC and they really poured it on. But when you lose your position coach on the day you’re supposed to be making your decision and Notre Dame is still calling and trying to get you, I think that made a really big impact.”

Bowden wasn't interested in discussing Entz or USC's coaching staff when asked about it Wednesday.

"The reason we got Madden is because we have the best coaches in the country recruiting him," Bowden said. "We have Coach Freeman, he's a linebacker guy as our head coach. You have Coach Bullough, who will obviously coach the linebackers, and Coach Golden, who in the NFL coached linebackers. Those three are the reason why Madden is here today and why he signed with the Irish."