2028 OT Lincoln Fa'alafi Has Notre Dame At #1 After Miami Visit

Lincoln Fa'alafi‍ saved his last visit of the season for Notre Dame, and the Irish made it count.

"It was great," Fa'alafi told Irish Sports Daily on Sunday, following his trip to South Bend for the Irish’s win over Miami. 

"It was amazing. The atmosphere was just popping every single second."

Before the game, Fa'alafi spent time with the recruits and the commits, hearing their experiences and their reasons for choosing Notre Dame. Then he watched the players and coaches he has gotten to know do everything they have been telling him they were going to do.

"Taking down #1 Miami was just, it was crazy," Fa'alafi said. "I think they really deserved that win. They worked very hard for it. I’m very proud of them, and just a great game overall."

Fa'alafi holds offers from Alabama, Florida, Ohio State, Oregon, USC, UCLA, BYU, Texas A&M, Washington, California, Nebraska and others, and earlier this month he named a Top 7 of Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, Oklahoma, UCLA, BYU and USC.

The 6-foot-8, 360-pounder is one of the biggest offensive tackles in the 2028 class. A New Zealand native who came to football from basketball, the JSerra Catholic standout is still new to the game, which is part of why the relationships have mattered so much to him.

"The relationships that go on around here are different from any other school," Fa'alafi said. "I'm starting to feel that as well. It feels like family. I know you can say that with a lot of different other colleges, but it feels very special here."

He hears it from DJ Bryant, Marcus Freeman, offensive line coach Joe Rudolph and the rest of the staff. The education and faith fit are just as important.

"The countless opportunities you get here with what you can learn, what you can research, what you can major in," Fa'alafi said. "It's all just done at the highest level and the highest standard.

"I'm a Christian myself and going to a Catholic school is just, I think it's a great fit." 

Put it all together and it shouldn’t be a huge shock that Notre Dame has moved to the front.

"I can't lie," Fa'alafi said. "I keep it honest and Notre Dame sits at #1. It has to sit at #1 currently."

Ohio State and Oregon are battling it out behind the Irish, with UCLA and Oklahoma also up there and the rest of his top seven still in the picture. 

The Notre Dame trip closed out his fall visit schedule, and he will spend the rest of the season focused on school and offseason training.

Fa'alafi plans to narrow his list to a top three next weekend, Nov. 14-15, and think it through with his family from there.

"This week I'll definitely focus on just my recruiting phase and see how we go, think it through with me and my family and see where the Lord takes us."

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