Tag: Notre Dame recruiting

Notre Dame receiver commit makes all-area team…as defensive back

Wait, what?

As Notre Dame continues to lose receivers to the transfer portal, the spotlight figures to shine brighter on incoming receiver [autotag]Cam Williams[/autotag]. The four-star 2024 Irish commit won’t play in the upcoming bowl game, but he’s enrolling early at the university. The obvious intent is to become assimilated to the receiving corps as quickly as possible.

Too bad not everyone sees Williams as a receiver, at least when it comes to selecting all-area teams. The Chicago Sun-Times came out with its annual all-area team, and Williams was an easy choice. But in a baffling decision, he made the team as a defensive back.

To the Sun-Times’ credit, Williams, like many high school football players, played both ways at Glenbard South in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, and he indeed was a defensive back when his team didn’t have the ball. But the Irish didn’t recruit Williams, the No. 2 2024 recruit in Illinois according to 247Sports, for his defense.

It would be easy to say that those who cover high school football for the Sun-Times didn’t actually watch Williams’ games, but that seems too simplistic. More likely is that they didn’t want to leave certain other receivers off the team but still wanted to find a place for Williams. Whatever the reason, it’s unfair to be misleading about Williams like this.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Notre Dame’s Quarterback Conundrum Must Be Solved

Solving Notre Dame’s quarterback conundrum

If you are a football fan to any degree, you know the following statement to be true. Quarterback is the single most important position in the sport. Coincidentally, this position has been a frustration for Notre Dame fans for well over a decade.

Sure, there have been some standouts. [autotag]Deshone Kizer[/autotag] comes to mind, [autotag]Ian Book[/autotag] in recent vintage as well in terms of quarterbacks who made it to the NFL after their Notre Dame careers ended. But even when including these players, the Irish haven’t had a signal caller they win their biggest games because of. Not with, but because of.

This needs to change for Notre Dame moving forward and with the rumor mill ablaze regarding quarterback recruits and the Irish, let’s take a look at five things to consider about the current quarterback dynamic.

Notre Dame lands commitment from 2025 Illinois defender recruit

Like this get for the Irish?

Elmhurst, Illinois is starting to become a hotbed for 2025 Notre Dame defensive commits. Earlier this year, the Irish received a commitment from defense end recruit [autotag]Joseph Reiff[/autotag] from York. Now, IC Catholic Prep in the same town has a commit for the same recruiting class in edge rusher [autotag]Dom Hulak[/autotag], who announced his decision Friday.

Like Reiff, Hulak was recruited by [autotag]Al Golden[/autotag] and [autotag]Al Washington[/autotag]. They beat out offers from many other schools, all of which were either in or near the Midwest. They included Louisville, Purdue, Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa.

According to 247Sports, Hulak is ranked eighth on the list of 2025 Illinois recruits. Reiff is right behind him at ninth.

Hulak is the eighth commit in Notre Dame’s 2025 class, which ranks third on 247Sports behind Georgia and Alabama. The Irish are the highest-ranked program on the list without a five-star recruit. Fortunately, it’s early enough that that still can change.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Notre Dame offers four-star 2025 North Carolina recruit

Hope he picks the Irish.

As of this moment, Notre Dame does not have any commits for its 2025 class. While that seems like a long way off, that doesn’t mean [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] and his staff aren’t looking that far ahead.

To that end, Jackson Keith, a four-star small forward recruit and the third-ranked 2025 recruit from North Carolina according to 247Sports, has received an offer from the Irish. Keith himself announced the news on social media:

As one can see by this tweet, Shrewsberry had some assistance in recruiting Keith from associate head coach [autotag]Kyle Getter[/autotag]. Keith has gotten numerous offers from Division I programs over the past 15 months. Among them are Wake Forest, NC State, Virginia, Florida State, Virginia Tech, Xavier, Villanova, Georgetown, Illinois, Texas A&M and Tennessee.

Keith most definitely is going to be playing college basketball for a very prominent program. Hopefully, he eventually decides that the Irish are the way to go.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

How Notre Dame broke USC

You really just hate to see it.

Last Saturday’s college football slate was loaded with intriguing matchups. With Notre Dame on bye, fans were able to soak in a wonderfully entertaining slate of games stress-free. This was a well-deserved break for everyone.

Of all the action that occurred, Southern Cal losing to Utah’s backup quarterback and a last-second field goal had to be the highlight for Notre Dame fans eating cheeseburgers all weekend.

Just a couple of short weeks ago [autotag]Caleb Williams[/autotag] was in the hunt to repeat as the Heisman winner and USC, while flawed, were still undefeated and feeling themselves, in true LA fashion.

Then Notre Dame happened.

My how the tone inside and outside the Trojan program has changed quickly. Let’s examine the latest downfall of Troy more closely.

Notre Dame Bullied By Louisville: Irish Are In Big Trouble

Just how big of trouble are the Irish in?

Everyone knew that the four-game stretch Notre Dame is in the midst of currently would be tough. It appeared that way before the season and even more so once both Duke and Louisville got off to hot starts this year. But that doesn’t excuse the product Notre Dame put on the field against Louisville Saturday night. It cannot be used as an excuse.

Notre Dame got outcoached, out-schemed, out-efforted, out-executed, out-adjusted, and got sent to the outhouse when it was all said and done. The Irish were not prepared for this moment physically or emotionally. Quite frankly, this is completely unacceptable. For me, the worst part of this game result isn’t even the result itself, it’s the pandora’s box of negativity and questions, legitimate ones, big picture and small that will now loom over the rest of the season. Not ideal circumstances as undefeated USC rolls into South Bend next week.

Let’s examine the biggest areas of alarm.

Notre Dame vs Duke: Confidences & Concerns

How confident or concerned are you about how things will go Saturday night?

This is going to be a tough week for anyone who feels favorably about Notre Dame Football. The coaches, the players, and most certainly the fans. Let’s be very clear and direct. The Ohio State loss was not just any run-of-the-mill loss. It’s going to hurt, it’s going to sting, and because of the way it happened, it’s going to linger.

In many ways one could argue Notre Dame’s staff must have their best week of coaching yet before heading to Duke.

At Night.

With them undefeated.

Gameday present.

Their side flying high while those in the Irish’s corner feel like they’ve been run over by a truck physically and emotionally. Everyone is drained. This is a tricky spot for Notre Dame for many reasons. How will they respond after last week’s heartbreak?

Let’s take a look at some confidences and concerns Notre Dame fans may have entering this game with their emotional tanks on empty.

Notre Dame vs Ohio State: Confidences & Concerns

How you feeling about the Irish today?

Notre Dame vs. Ohio State week is upon us. All of college football awaits the answers to so many major questions relating to both of these teams. How much better does Sam Hartman make Notre Dame in the most premier of matchups? How will new Buckeyes starter Kyle McCord handle the hostile “greened out” home crowd? Are the Irish ready to take the next step or are the Buckeyes a threat to win it all this year?

In many ways, this game feels like both teams’ first. Neither the media or fans on either side of this battle seem to have drawn many concrete conclusions about either team based on the results of the games leading into this. This kind of game at Notre Dame Stadium doesn’t come around often. Will the Irish take advantage?

Let’s examine some confidences & concerns Irish fans may have entering this Saturday’s Midwestern masterpiece of a game.

FIW Exclusive: Interview with Notre Dame commit Cam Williams, Part III

Hear from one of Notre Dame’s top 2024 commits.

[autotag]Cam Williams[/autotag] is a four-star receiver commit in Notre Dame’s 2024 recruiting class. He is the state of Illinois’ second-best recruit in that class according to 247Sports. He also happens to attend Glenbard South in Glen Ellyn, my alma mater. To say the least, it’s been great to have him represent the same school community I once did as a student and continue to do as an alumnus.

I had the opportunity to see him play his most recent game, and he scored two touchdowns. One of them came on this 62-yard run that I captured myself from the top of the bleachers. This run is a perfect indication that he once was a running back:

I had a chance to speak with Williams after the game, making this the third time he has spoken with this site. I did it once last year, and our own Michael Chen did the other interview not long before. Here’s what what he to say:

Watch: Notre Dame commit Cam Williams stars in debut, reaffirms Irish commitment

He’s going to be something special with the Irish.

2024 Notre Dame receiver commit [autotag]Cam Williams[/autotag] has entered his senior season at Glenbard South in Glen Ellyn, Illinois with high expectations. Not the least of those is living up to his No. 2 ranking on 247Sports’ list of 2024 recruits in the Land of Lincoln. So Matt Freeman of Irish Sports Daily attended Williams’ season opener and did not come away disappointed. Take a look at how smoothly Williams cuts and how he uses that to his advantage:

These touchdowns all happened in the first half. Williams would tack on two more in the second half for a total of five scores in a 56-21 victory. As you can see from the above clip, he just makes it look too easy at times.

Last year, I noted that Williams and I share the same high school. After I shared this with him in order to interview him for the site, I checked in on him periodically to see how he was doing. When the above clip was released, this Raider alumnus asked the current Raider how he’s able to cut so smoothly after a catch. He said the following:

“To be honest, I think it’s from my running back days with vision and stuff.”

How many of you knew that he used to be a running back? It definitely explains why clips like this one of him exist. And for those of you worrying that he might change his mind about attending Notre Dame, don’t. He also said this:

“You know, I find a true peace to how I am knowing what I want. … Nothing can keep me away from South Bend.”

So opposing fan bases can try all they want to sway Williams. He’s sticking with the Irish. You have to admire a recruit who refuses to give into more financially lucrative opportunities he might find elsewhere in the NIL era. More recruits should follow his example.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89