The 2025 recruiting class for Notre Dame received a significant boost and a slight surprise on National Signing Day on Wednesday, landing four-star linebacker Madden Faraimo. The JSerra Catholic standout is a top-100 prospect and he could have stayed home in Southern California with an offer from USC. In the 247Sports Composite, Faraimo, who is 6-3, 230 pounds, is the No. 2 player in Notre Dame’s class. Just Offensive tackle Will Black is ranked higher. This year Faraimo recorded 43 solo tackles, 113 total tackles, and a sack in nine games for JSerra.
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman addressed the signing of Faraimo at a press conference on Wednesday. Freeman indicated that he spoke with Faraimo the night before signing day and he had not yet made up his mind.
“There’s some truth to the recruiting rankings, but I think more important is that we still have to trust our evaluation and our eyes in terms of bringing in the right guys to this program,” Freeman said. “Obviously, you’ve heard me say this before. We can’t recruit everybody. We’ve got to recruit the guys that fit this place, but we want to get the best players in the country that do.
“It was funny; I was talking to him and said, ‘Man, choose hard, choose hard.’ That’s what we use around here. He said, ‘Coach, I chose God.’ And I thought that was a powerful statement and speaks volumes about the young man and his family.”
Madden Faraimo: An Impact Player From Day One
Faraimo’s recruitment mirrors that of freshman linebacker Kyngstonn Villamu-Asa, who also made his final decision to attend Notre Dame on signing day. The two players have been friends since high school.
Greg Biggins, national recruiting analyst for 247Sports, wrote of Faraimo, “Played much of the year with a giant club on his left arm but still played very effectively. Played safety as a freshman and sophomore before growing into a linebacker as a junior and that’s where he’ll play in college as well. Brings a lot of positional versatility to the table and could play any of the ‘backer positions or grow into a full-time edge rusher in college. Plays with plenty of quick twitch, moves well laterally, and shows good instincts. With his frame, toughness, and athleticism, his upside is very high, and he has the ability to be an impact player from day one in college.”
Rivals.com ranked Notre Dame’s 2025 recruiting class as the 12th-best in the country as of Wednesday. Other key recruits signed include Mark Zackery, Jerome Bettis Jr., Dallas Golden, Blake Hebert, and Ethan Long, to name a few. Faraimo joins fellow elite linebackers Anthony Sacca and Josiah Kia in Notre Dame’s 2025 class, giving Freeman strength at the position for years to come.
