BREAKING | 2021 Hawaii LB Kahanu Kia Commits to Notre Dame
2021 Punahou (Hawaii) linebacker Kahanu Kia was on the mainland over the last few weeks for a camp in Utah, but he also made time to travel to four colleges for visits.
The three-star prospect was able to visit Notre Dame, Stanford, UCLA and his father’s alma mater Utah.
Kia returned to Hawaii a few days ago and now has committed to Notre Dame after talking it over with his family earlier this week.
"Monday night, my parents and I really just talked about it,” Kia told ISD. “We had a really long conversation. At the end of the day, we just looked at the big picture and what Notre Dame offers and how I felt with the coaching staff and players. Notre Dame is everything I wanted and we felt it was the best fit."
The Punahou star also advised the Notre Dame coaching staff this week and his commitment was well received.
"Oh man, they were excited,” laughed Kia. “We were all excited talking to them. We really built a good relationship. I'm just super happy to keep building it with them."
Kia will also be the fourth player from Punahou to choose the Irish. Manti Te’o, Robby Toma and Marist Liufau all made the decision to head to South Bend and while Kia was aware of it, he also wanted to make the decision for himself.
"The more it comes up, the more it is pretty cool,” Kia stated. “The legacy it has is cool. At the end of the day, I'm just excited to get to Notre Dame."
It wasn’t a regular recruiting cycle for Kia and many others as official visits, in-home visits and evaluation periods didn’t happen, but he knows he found a future home despite the challenges of 2020.
"I'm so happy this over,” said Kia. “I loved the relationships I had with all the coaches, but to finally get this off my back and have peace in terms of where I'm going to go for the next three or four years - I just feel calm and happy."
Robby Toma Excited for Kahanu Kia's Future at Notre Dame