Tevita Nonu couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
The 2027 Washington defensive lineman had exchanged some messages on social media with Notre Dame defensive line assistant Nick Sebastian on Monday before hoping on the phone, where Nonu learned he was being offered a scholarship by the Irish.
“I was in disbelief,” the 6-foot-4, 270-pounder says.
The O’Dea High School start already had offers from schools like Washington, Oregon State and Cal among others and shortly after picking up Notre Dame, he added Arizona.
The offer from the Irish certainly made a major impression.
“I know Notre Dame is an amazing school and has great players and a great program,” he says.
Nonu had been in contact with Sebastian as well as Irish defensive line coach Al Washington a couple weeks prior to the offer.
He’s hoping to get out to South Bend at some point.
“I would love to visit Notre Dame,” he says. “I’m not sure when though.
“I hope to learn a lot about Notre Dame and their history as they have a very rich culture and I want to learn about their development of players.”
He has plans to visit Washington State later this month.
It’s early, but he has a good idea of what will matter most when he chooses a college.
“The most important thing for me in picking a school is the coach, the culture of the school, and overall development of players in football and in life.”
