Kahanu Kia
Kahanu Kia left Notre Dame for two years on a mission, came back, then lost a whole season to a torn ACL before he ever really got going. In 2025 he finally got back on the field — 33 snaps, all 12 games. Now he wants to find out what's underneath all of it.
The story around Kia isn't a Heisman or a draft slot — it's perspective. Beat writers keep circling the same arc: a 2021 signee out of Punahou who stepped away for a two-year mission in North Carolina, returned, then had ACL surgery wipe out his entire 2024. His 2025 was a slow re-introduction — all 12 games, 33 defensive snaps, 9 tackles — and the staff's read was a player getting visibly better week to week. "I just want to reach my full potential," he told Irish Sports Daily, framing 2026 as maximizing his role "whatever that is every given week."
The catch is the room. Notre Dame returns what several outlets are calling the deepest linebacker corps in the country — Drayk Bowen, Jaiden Ausberry, Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, Jaylen Sneed, Madden Faraimo all ahead of or around him. Kia entered spring on the back of a left-knee scope (a cleanup procedure a couple weeks before practice) and was limited early, which didn't help his climb. He's a depth piece on a team chasing a title, not a projected starter.
So the forward stake is honest and small-bore: on a defense this stacked, can a 25-year-old with a mission, an ACL, and a knee scope behind him turn 33 snaps into a real rotational role in 2026 — and contribute on special teams while the room churns? It's not the loudest Notre Dame story. It might be the most human one.
Play style
A 6'2", 225-pound off-ball/edge-hybrid linebacker with, per the Butkus watch framing, a high-motor downhill profile. With essentially no charted 2025 reps — 33 defensive snaps, 9 tackles, 4 solo by the box score — the tape read is projection over production: a rangy, physical body the staff likes as a thumper who can fit gaps and chase. Two missing years (mission, ACL) mean the technical refinement is still catching up to the frame; 2026 is about translating effort and length into reliable assignment football and special-teams value rather than splash plays. No play-by-play percentiles exist to cite — this is a scouting read, not a metrics read.
SOURCES
- Kahanu Kia Chasing Full Potential as Notre Dame Eyes Championship Run — Irish Sports Daily
- Kahanu Kia Brings Perspective And Life Experience To The Notre Dame Linebacking Corps — Roundtable
- Notre Dame 2026 Season Preview: Irish Linebackers Set To Dominate — Roundtable
- Notre Dame Post-Spring Depth Chart: Linebackers — Roundtable
Career Arc
Coaching Lineage · 2021–2025
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Brian Kelly → Marcus Freeman. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
2025 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Notre Dame | 9 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Notre Dame | 1 | -- | 0.5 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2021 | Notre Dame | 7 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 17 | 8 | 0.5 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
How he plays
2026 Outlook
Notre Dame
2026 Depth chart
Returning starter
Linebacker · Notre Dame · editorial
Returning around him
- 37% of 2024 offensive production back (Moderate turnover)
- 6 Notre Dame players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: -8 net (7 in / 15 out)
2026 Award watch
- Butkus
Notre Dame · Last season: 10-2 (AP #9) · Talent rank #9 · 2026 recruiting class #5
Perception vs tape
Kahanu Kia left Notre Dame for two years on a mission, came back, then lost a whole season to a torn ACL before he ever really got going. In 2025 he finally got back on the field — 33 snaps, all 12 games. Now he wants to find out what's underneath all of it.
The story around Kia isn't a Heisman or a draft slot — it's perspective. Beat writers keep circling the same arc: a 2021 signee out of Punahou who stepped away for a two-year mission in North Carolina, returned, then had ACL surgery wipe out his entire 2024. His 2025 was a slow re-introduction — all 12 games, 33 defensive snaps, 9 tackles — and the staff's read was a player getting visibly better week to week. "I just want to reach my full potential," he told Irish Sports Daily, framing 2026 as maximizing his role "whatever that is every given week."
The catch is the room. Notre Dame returns what several outlets are calling the deepest linebacker corps in the country — Drayk Bowen, Jaiden Ausberry, Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, Jaylen Sneed, Madden Faraimo all ahead of or around him. Kia entered spring on the back of a left-knee scope (a cleanup procedure a couple weeks before practice) and was limited early, which didn't help his climb. He's a depth piece on a team chasing a title, not a projected starter.
So the forward stake is honest and small-bore: on a defense this stacked, can a 25-year-old with a mission, an ACL, and a knee scope behind him turn 33 snaps into a real rotational role in 2026 — and contribute on special teams while the room churns? It's not the loudest Notre Dame story. It might be the most human one.
How he plays
A 6'2", 225-pound off-ball/edge-hybrid linebacker with, per the Butkus watch framing, a high-motor downhill profile. With essentially no charted 2025 reps — 33 defensive snaps, 9 tackles, 4 solo by the box score — the tape read is projection over production: a rangy, physical body the staff likes as a thumper who can fit gaps and chase. Two missing years (mission, ACL) mean the technical refinement is still catching up to the frame; 2026 is about translating effort and length into reliable assignment football and special-teams value rather than splash plays. No play-by-play percentiles exist to cite — this is a scouting read, not a metrics read.
- Kahanu Kia Chasing Full Potential as Notre Dame Eyes Championship Run — Irish Sports Daily
- Kahanu Kia Brings Perspective And Life Experience To The Notre Dame Linebacking Corps — Roundtable
- Notre Dame 2026 Season Preview: Irish Linebackers Set To Dominate — Roundtable
- Notre Dame Post-Spring Depth Chart: Linebackers — Roundtable
Heisman trajectory
Heisman Trajectory · 2025
Peak #5943
Peaked at #5943 this season.