Latest news with #TikiHola
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Historic College Football Program Beats Out USC for Massive 2026 Defender
The USC Trojans still stand alone at the top of the 2026 recruiting rankings. But other programs are starting to catch up to the national leader. Including one historic college football program that beat out USC for a massive 2026 defender. USC lost out on landing 6-foot-3, 290-pound defensive lineman Tiki Hola of Bastrop, Tex., on Saturday. Hola announced his verbal commitment to USC rival Notre Dame. Hayes Fawcett of On3 confirmed USC was in the final running for the powerful Hola. Advertisement College Football Playoff qualifier SMU was one more powerhouse on Hola's short list. But he opts for the Fighting Irish over the Mustangs and Trojans. Caleb Williams looks on during a USC 2023 regular season game. Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports "They say choose hard, but I chose God," Hola told Fawcett after revealing his decision to join ND. The national title game runner-up even makes up for a past pivotal recruiting loss involving the Irish and the Trojans. USC landed wide receiver Trent Mosley during the spring, whose father played at Notre Dame in the early 1990s. Mosley verbally committed to the Trojans on March 11. Hola is a four-star prospect per the 247Sports composite. He's also the 41st-best prospect from the state of Texas and the nation's No. 35 ranked defensive lineman. Notre Dame defensive line coach and run game coordinator Al Washington ran point on Hola's recruitment to South Bend. Advertisement USC and head coach Lincoln Riley, however, still boast a stellar DL class. Riley and the staff helped reel in a whopping seven defensive linemen via the '26 cycle. Local prospect Simote Katoanga leads the DL group as the highest ranked four-star out of Rancho Santa Margarita Catholic. Katoanga was even pursued by Notre Dame before choosing USC. The Trojans even plucked a stout DL from Hola's home state. Jaimeon Winfield of Richardson is one other prized four-star DL who verbally chose USC. The Trojans hold 27 total verbal pledges for the current recruiting period. Notre Dame, however, is gaining ground at No. 2 -- reeling in 15 commitments (13 of whom rank as a four-star) ahead of the early signing period in December. The Fighting Irish have surpassed Clemson and defending national champion Ohio State in the recruiting rankings. Related: Ex-USC Star Waived by Historic Super Bowl Winning Franchise
USA Today
10-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Social media reacts to Notre Dame football adding defensive end Tiki Hola
Social media reacts to Notre Dame football adding defensive end Tiki Hola Notre Dame football's 2026 class got larger on Saturday, as 2026 Texas defensive lineman Tiki Hola committed. It was a big recruiting win for the Irish, as they beat out rivals USC along with SMU for the 6-foot, 2-inch and 285-pound pass rusher. Notre Dame's class now stands with fifteen commitments, and ranks as the No. 2 overall class according to the 247Sports Composite Team Rankings. Social media was quick to react to the news, as the Irish continued an impressive hot streak in recruiting. Find out below the best reactions to Hola joining the Notre Dame 2026 class. Some highlights of what to expect from Hola Hola is a load upfront, as not only does he keep offensive lineman from getting to the second-level, he's able to shed off blockers and make plays. He's close to having a college-ready frame, and with some time with the Notre Dame Strength & Conditioning coaches, an impact could happen early. Underrated at his position Edge rushers get most of the publicity along the defensive line, as Hola isn't ranked as high as some of his future teammates. That shouldn't matter much once they all enroll, as he plays in one of the best states for high school, and should over-perform his current ranking. The Polynesian pipeline continues Linebacker Kyngstonn Viliama-Asa's mother was pretty excited to see another Polynesian player joining the Irish recruiting class. Notre Dame has had multiple players shine from that area, and HOla could be another on that list. The Irish are hot While Notre Dame had a lull in commitments, behind the scenes they were putting in plenty of work. It's been a great last few months for Irish recruiting, and that doesn't look like it is going to stop anytime soon. Hola's community has his back You love to see when your high school if fully behind one of their own's decision, as you really can't go wrong with picking Notre Dame. You get a fantastic mix of athletics and academics, and recently they have shown you can contended for championships as well. Congrats Tiki, welcome to the Irish family!
USA Today
10-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Notre Dame lands key defensive tackle prospect
Notre Dame lands key defensive tackle prospect The Fighting Irish beat out the rival Trojans for Tiki Hola. Notre Dame is getting a highly touted defensive lineman. Tiki Hola has chosen the Fighting Irish over SMU and USC. Hola stands 6'3" and weighs 290 pounds. He is out of Bastrop, Texas. On3 Sports has him ranked as a three-star, out of five, recruit. Texas and Texas A&M had also made offers. Hola was slated to announce his commitment choice at 3 p.m. Central time this afternoon, but he told On3 of his choice a bit earlier in the day. Welcome to South Bend, Tiki! Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions. Follow Tim on X: @tehealey
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Defensive Tackle Tiki Hola Commits To Notre Dame
Notre Dame has landed yet another big time football player with Bastrop (Texas) High School standout Tiki Hola announcing his commitment to the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame beat out USC and SMU to land the talented defensive tackle. Notre Dame has been recruiting Hola for about two years, with his first visit to campus coming in 2023 when he watched the Fighting Irish beat Wake Forest (45-7). In March of 2024, Hola was officially offered a scholarship by Notre Dame during its Pot of Gold push. A week later he made his second visit to campus, and since then Hola has made two more trips to campus as the Irish. Defensive line coach Al Washington established a strong rapport with Hola, selling his vision for how the Bastrop star fits in the Irish defense, and that played a major role in this decision. Advertisement The Texas defensive lineman is listed at 6-3 and between 270-285 pounds, but he checked in recently at 6-3 and 300 pounds. As a junior, Hola racked up 102 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, two sacks, forced three fumbles and recovered two fumbles. He earned Defensive MVP honors after putting together that dominant season. Hola also earned first-team All-State honors at the 5A level. Landing Hola gives Notre Dame the kind of physical, stout, disruptive big man that could help improve the Irish run defense. Hola is ranked as a Top 150 caliber prospect on the Irish Breakdown board, but he has a 4.5-star upside grade, which is that of a Top 50-75 prospect. ESPN and Rivals both rank Hola as a four-star recruit, with ESPN ranking him as the nation's No. 150 overall player and No. 12 defensive tackle. Hola also had offers from Georgia, Texas, LSU, Michigan, Oregon, Texas A&M, Miami (Fla.), Tennessee, Nebraska, TCU, Oklahoma State, Arizona State, Texas Tech, Baylor, Boston College, Arizona and Houston. Hola is the 15th player to commit to Notre Dame. He joins Florida quarterback Noah Grubbs, Texas running back Javian Osborne, Florida wide receiver Dylan Faison, Georgia wide receiver Bubba Frazier, Pennsylvania offensive lineman Tyler Merrill, Michigan offensive linemen Ben Nichols, Gregory Patrick and Sullivan Garvin, North Carolina ends Ebenezer Ewetade and Rodney Dunham, North Carolina linebacker Thomas Davis Jr., Ohio linebacker Jakobe Clapper, Florida cornerback Ayden Pouncey and Tennessee cornerback Chaston Smith. Advertisement Be sure to check out the Irish Breakdown message board, the Champions Lounge Irish Breakdown Content 2025 Scholarship Chart 2025 Football Schedule Notre Dame 2026 Scholarship Offers 2025 Commit Rankings - Offense 2025 Commit Rankings - Defense 2024 Recruiting Class 2023 Recruiting Class 2022 Recruiting Class ——————— Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content and our premium message board! Click on the link below for more. BECOME A MEMBER Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time! Join the Irish Breakdown community! Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channel Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes Follow me on Twitter: @CoachD178 Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook Sign up for the FREE Irish Breakdown daily newsletter
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Notre Dame lands a commitment four-star DL Tiki Hola
Notre Dame's run of blue-chip commitments continued on Saturday. Four-star defensive lineman Tiki Hola committed to the Irish over SMU -- a colossal victory for Marcus Freeman and Al Washington on the recruiting trail scooping up another big-time piece to their star-studded 2026 recruiting class. Advertisement "Up to these last two visits, I had no idea. Both teams had been talking to me for a while and I knew was valuable to them," Hola started. "Notre Dame has done a great job recruiting me. Coach Freeman and what they're doing with the program ... they're doing a really good job." The Irish have been chopping away the touted 2026 defensive lineman from Central Texas for years. Washington and assistant DL coach Nick Sebastian have been paramount in Notre Dame's surge. "Coach Sebastian and Coach Washington have been recruiting me for the last few years," the four-star DL said. "They've always made me feel like it's home. I'm really comfortable there and in that environment. The fan base and the teammates over there made me feel welcomed and they made me feel valuable." Advertisement The Mustangs were "neck and neck" with the Irish leading into Saturday's reveal. Hola officially visited the Hilltop last weekend. He will return to South Bend for a third time this year on June 13 for his official visit -- after soaking up the Irish's star-studded junior day in February and the spring game last month. In that span, Hola happened upon his decision. "Outside of football, Coach Freeman and Coach Washington are two great people," he detailed. "Being coached by them would be a great opportunity -- to expend my opportunities in football and the doors that God has opened for me outside of football."
