Former Notre Dame football edge reportedly enters transfer portal
· Yahoo Sports
SOUTH BEND — Former Notre Dame football defensive end Junior Tuihalamaka might get another crack at college football after all.
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After going undrafted and unsigned in the spring, Tuihalamaka was among 16-plus football players named in a successful class action lawsuit on the part of 2022 signees who were not given a fifth year of eligibility under the NCAA’s new age-based eligibility parameters.
According to On3.com, the 6-foot-2, 255-pound edge rusher has entered the transfer portal as of Thursday afternoon, Aug. 20.
A product of Granada Hills, CA, Tuihalamaka has a younger brother, Alifeleti, who gave his nonbinding commitment to USC in early May as part of the 2027 recruiting class. The younger Tuihalamaka is a four-star defensive lineman listed at 6-4 and 260 pounds.
Niuafe “Junior” Tuihalamaka was credited with a combined 45 quarterback pressures over his final two seasons with the Irish. A core special teams performer in his first three seasons, including his freshman year in 2022, Tuihalamaka backed up Boubacar Traore off the edge in 2025.
Tuihalamaka made a fumble recovery that set up a game-turning touchdown for the Irish in their College Football Playoff quarterfinal win over Georgia in the 2025 Sugar Bowl.
Notre Dame still has Traore at the former Vyper spot with the likes of Loghan Thomas and freshmen Rodney Dunham and Ebenezer Ewetade in reserve.
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Former Notre Dame football edge reportedly enters transfer portal