Notre Dame LB Commit Junior Tuihalamaka Staying On Fellow West Coast Targets

Niuafe Tuihalamaka‍ loves Notre Dame’s 2022 recruiting class so far, especially the linebacker corps, which includes himself, Joshua Burnham, Nolan Ziegler and Jaylen Sneed.

But this week, the California native will be focused a pair of West Coast targets.

“Definitely working on some West Coast guys, especially Tobias and CJ Williams,” Tuihalamaka told Irish Sports Daily, referring to 2022 wide receivers Tobias Merriweather‍ and CJ Williams‍.

Merriweather, a Washington native, is set to announce his decision on Tuesday afternoon with Notre Dame the perceived leader over Stanford and others.

Williams is set to make his announcement public on Sunday.

Tuihalamaka has come across Williams, a fellow California resident, a few times recently.

“I've talked to CJ here and there because we compete against each other sometimes,” Tuihalamaka said. “I always keep a good word for Notre Dame and keep letting him know.”

Tuihalamaka believes the reasons he selected Notre Dame are some of the same factors that will appeal to Williams.

“I just let him know that we'll get the best of both worlds; bringing a national championship as well as academics because he's an academic kid, so I know his standards are as high as mine and the other players in the 2022 class.”