Madden Faraimo arrived at Notre Dame with all eyes on him as the California native was the biggest recruiting win of the 2025 class.
The 6-foot-2, 235-pounder will be the first to tell you that college football has been an adjustment, but Faraimo has also done enough to carve out roles in a deep linebacker room.
Entering the final regular-season game, Faraimo has played 122 snaps on defense while also adding 164 plays on special teams.
It hasn’t been easy going from playing every down in high school to a limited role, but Faraimo has embraced the process.
“Coach Marcus Freeman says it all the time, just struggle while you wait,” Faraimo said. “I think in the process of earning any opportunity I get. I’m just staying focused on each week, each day and trying to get better as I wait for that opportunity.”
That opportunity is now here.
Sophomore linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa went down with a season-ending injury last week, and now Faraimo will be asked to take on a much more significant role.
Faraimo says his mindset won’t change this week due to an increased role, but he’s well aware his teammates are counting on him to raise his game.
“I'm going to have to get better a lot quicker,” stated Faraimo. “I've got to focus on each day and each opportunity. I have to win in that moment so that when the time comes on Saturday, I'm prepared to be the best I can be for my teammates.”
Marcus Freeman believes Faraimo is on the right track. Over the last three games, Faraimo has tallied 11 tackles, including two tackles for loss against Syracuse.
“He is an ascending player,” said Freeman. “The more he's out there, the better he continues to play. He's preparing in a really positive way. I think the greatest thing Kyng did for Madden was they hung out a lot. Madden learned how to prepare in a similar way that Kygn did. He's getting better. He's getting better at all facets of playing the linebacker position.
“He's doing a really good job when we're asking him to do on special teams, so his role will increase as well as Kahanu Kia's and some of those other guys that have been playing.”
Outside of Viliamu-Asa himself, the injury news may have hit Faraimo the hardest. The two first crossed paths in middle school while playing for the same youth program, then became closer as Notre Dame recruited the former JSerra Catholic (Calif.) standout.
“We go back to middle school because we played for the same youth team, so we crossed paths,” explained Faraimo. “I met him there very briefly and then through high school we played each other. Crossed paths, nothing really too in-depth until I started getting recruited to Notre Dame.
“We started having a lot of conversations and he would reach out whenever I needed to. I could ask him any questions, so our relationship really grew then. When I got here, he's just been a huge piece of me being comfortable at Notre Dame and me trying to fit in and get my feet underneath me.”
Faraimo is similar to Viliamu-Asa as both are quiet off the field but flip a switch on the field. The freshman backer has paid close attention to how Viliamu-Asa prepares and will implement those lessons moving forward.
“He's a big leader by example kind of guy, so I see it every day,” Faraimo said. “He comes in early, he's always here late, of course, in the film room and off the field. In the classroom, he really handles his business, so I think it's just an overall life perspective that Kyngstonn has that I learned from, so I think it's special.”
Notre Dame’s defense has become a well-oiled machine in recent weeks and Faraimo has enjoyed watching the growth after not meeting expectations early in the year.
“It's kind of funny to me because we had so much potential at the start and it obviously didn't start the way we wanted it to,” Faraimo stated. “But now seeing it get where we want to be, it's fun to see. It's fun to watch, so it's special and I think we still have more left.”
Faraimo also had a front row seat to Notre Dame’s run to the National Title game a year ago as he joined the program in December. He could only practice, but it was a peek into game prep and the process of staying mentally locked in during a playoff run.
“I think the biggest thing is just getting used to the speed of the game and balancing the off-the-field stuff as well,” Faraimo explained. “As you know, the playbook is a big difference. The biggest thing was just the speed and the strength and those little things I needed to catch up on from high school.”
Expectations are high entering the game 12 and that’s just fine by Faraimo.
“It's special,” said Faraimo. “Notre Dame has a big brand, a big name, so it's important that we uphold those standards and continue to be in that conversation.”
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