Notre Dame LB Marist Liufau Declares for NFL Draft
Notre Dame linebacker Marist Liufau has made his future intentions known as he announced he will declare for the 2024 NFL Draft and will opt out of the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl later this month.
“I want to express endless gratitude for the unconditional support and guidance I’ve received during my time at Notre Dame,” Liufau said in a statement. “To the Irish fans - thank you for showing up every Saturday in the fall and for being the best fanbase in college football. To my coaches, support staff and professors - thank you for believing in me and helping me find myself as both a student-athlete and a person. To my teammates - thank you for the endless memories. You’ve truly become my family and I can’t wait to see what you all do next.
“After much prayer and thought, I have decided it is best for me to opt out of the bowl game and pursue my dreams by declaring for the NFL Draft. I am extremely excited for the next step in my journey, but Notre Dame will always be home.”
The 6-foot-2, 239-pounder will finish his 39-game career with Notre Dame with 118 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, four sacks, three pass breakups, three forced fumbles, one interception and one fumble recovery.
Liufau did show extreme patience during his time in South Bend as the Hawaii native redshirted in 2019 before playing in 10 games as a sophomore. Entering the 2021 season, Liufau was destined for a breakout a season, but he suffered a broken leg during the final days of fall camp that cost him all of the 2021 campaign.
In 2022, Liufau returned to the field to make 51 tackles, including a career-high eight tackles against Navy in November.
Liufau was named a 2023 Butkus Award Semifinalist earlier this fall and has accepted an invite to the prestigious Reese’s Senior Bowl.
Notre Dame linebackers Jaylen Sneed and Drayk Bowen should benefit from Liufau opting out of the bowl game as they’ll gain valuable reps during the next month.
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