Former Trojan commit ready to help Notre Dame football win rivalry game

There’s plenty of members of the Notre Dame football team who have a special place in their hearts for the rivalry game against the USC Trojans. But for Niufafe (Junior) Tuihalamaka, the game stands out more than most.

After all, Junior once thought he was headed to play his college ball in LA. He was committed to the Trojans for over a year. 

He eventually flipped his commitment to the Notre Dame football team. That despite the fact that there’s a long list of family members with ties to USC, and of course there’s the fact that he grew up just 36 minutes from the Coliseum. Where he’ll suit up for USC’s opponent on Saturday afternoon.

Notre Dame football player is especially geared up for USC

“It means a lot, especially playing in an environment with a lot of family members out there and growing up around a lot of people who love USC, especially my family,” Tuihalamaka told the media earlier this week.. “But we don’t like those guys over there.”

“It’s a rivalry,” added Tuihalamaka. “Ever since I came here, it’s been engrained with me. Growing up in California, I could obviously be a fan of USC and Stanford. Coming here, I understand the rivalry and everything.” 

Now he’s officially a part of it.

The defensive lineman is coming off one of his best games of the year against Army. He had 5 tackles and half a sack. Perhaps he was gearing up for the game against USC.

He won’t have any problem getting ready. He also talked about the pain he remembers from the 2022 game against USC. 

“Just letting Caleb Williams run around like that - we just have to keep that pain,” said Tuihalamaka. “The fact he was able to make plays like that against us, we just can’t let that happen on Saturday with anybody.” 

Caleb Williams won’t be on the other side of the field. But that won’t stop Notre Dame football from trying to win big.