2026 Notre Dame LB Target Talanoa Ili Changes Schools, But Not Top 7
A transfer of schools has made it a bit more difficult for Talanoa Ili to take unofficial visits of late.
“I've just been in Hawaii for right now,” the 2026 linebacker, who had been at Orange Lutheran High School in California.
“I go to school here now, so everything's hard to travel. I go to Kahuku (High School) now.”
Ili said the decision to transfer had to do with family, school and football.
“Everything,” he said.
And so far, so good, according to him.
“I love it out here,” Ili said.
Ili won’t take any more unofficial visits.
“I'm just waiting on my officials,” he said, adding that he still has official visits scheduled to UCLA (May 10th), BYU (May 27th), Oklahoma (June 6th), Notre Dame (June 10th), Texas (June 13th), USC (June 17th) and Oregon (June 20th).
Those are the schools Ili has been focused on since announcing them as his Top 7 back in February and it doesn’t look like any other schools will be in consideration moving forward.
“That's it,” said Ili.
Ili has maintained contact with the Irish.
“I talked to Coach Marcus Freeman for a little bit and I'm always keeping up with Myron (Tagovailoa-Amosa),” Ili said.
Freeman has let Ili know about the culture he’s built at Notre Dame.
“Last year, especially, was really eye-catching for me,” said Ili. “They didn't have as good of a roster as Ohio State, but they were still able to get to that point and to play in the National Championship. That just speaks volumes.”
A former Notre Dame defensive lineman from Hawaii, Tagovailoa-Amosa was installed as Irish Director of Recruiting Advancement this offseason.
“He's a good guy,” Ili said of him. “Really good dude. Since he's from here, the connection's already there. We both have similar backgrounds, so the connection was there and he's been really welcoming to me.
“He is just telling me how special of a place Notre Dame is. I would love to see it for myself.”
Ili is excited to get to South Bend for his official in June.
“I know the talk about it and all that,” he said. “I know a lot of the history; it's very traditional, but I just want to be able to be in the environment to see it for myself.”
Ili has already made unofficial visits to BYU, USC, UCLA, Oregon and Oklahoma, which gives him some additional information about those schools, but not necessarily an edge.
“When it comes to relationships, I feel like that plays a bigger aspect,” he said, adding that he does have strong relationships with the staff at Notre Dame.
At one point, Ili felt he wouldn’t make a decision until the fall, but he’s no longer putting any sort of timeline on it.
“I'm not sure right now. I'm just going where the wind takes me, so.”
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