2026 LB Talanoa Ili "Super Excited" About Notre Dame Offer

Talanoa Ili‍ was fired up when his coach at Orange Lutheran High School informed him that he’d been offered a scholarship offer by Notre Dame.

“I was excited, super excited,” the 2026 California linebacker told Irish Sports Daily.

“They're on a huge worldwide stage. Everybody knows about Notre Dame. They're on that top, top stage at the college level, and I just love that.”

The 6-foot-3, 205-pounder has been hearing from Irish defensive coordinator Al Golden more recently.

“They can't talk to me, but Coach Golden and some of the recruiting coordinators over there and the QB coach, they've been trying to get me out to a bunch of the camps,” Ili said. “They've been sending me camp info, but I talked to them a couple days ago.”

In the limited contact he’s had so far, the impressions of the Notre Dame coaches are positive.

“Great people, real down to earth, old school,” said Ili.

He’s hoping to get to South Bend for a camp, but isn’t sure yet.

“Nothing is set in stone right now, but that's something to look forward to,” he said, adding he does expect to get to South Bend eventually.

“I just want to see their practice, how they run things and how fast-tempo they go. What makes them different from every other college?”

Ili also has offers from schools like USC, Stanford, Cal, Washington, Oregon, Ohio State, Utah, Nebraska, Arizona, Tennessee and Michigan State among others.

So far, he’s made trips to USC and UCLA, but would like to get to other places, including Oregon and Notre Dame.

He has a good idea of what he’s looking for in a college.

“I want a good relationship with the coaches, a good environment and to be able to fit in the defensive scheme.”

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