'14 GA WDE Andrew Williams (Offer)

[STLDomer]

I think ppl say he is very important to this class because the staff reportedly thinks he is very important to this class as they have been on him for a while and have him #1 on their board at OLB.

Also FWIW Jake Brown said just today that he disagrees with the tumble he took on Rivals and he was at the Atlanta RCS. I don't really care about Scout or ESPNs rating of him. 247 will probably evaluate him again after The Opening.

I would take Williams over probably half of our current commits.

 

[ACamp1900]

I haven't said anything about him being important or not... but I will go on record that ANY defensive front seven guy with four plus stars is a a BIG DEAL to me and my ND Recruiting PTSD fandom...

 

[IrishLax]

I think ppl say he is very important to this class because the staff reportedly thinks he is very important to this class as they have been on him for a while and have him #1 on their board at OLB.

Also FWIW Jake Brown said just today that he disagrees with the tumble he took on Rivals and he was at the Atlanta RCS. I don't really care about Scout or ESPNs rating of him. 247 will probably evaluate him again after The Opening.

I would take Williams over probably half of our current commits.

Who?

Mind you, CAT is probably the single most "OK" position on the team in terms of quality depth outside of safety.

 

[Irishman77]

Lax you are the man and we all have our opinions, but mine is 180 degrees opposite of yours.

Last year when his jr tape first was posted, I was in awe. Then seeing him bulk up and workout with isaac ....ahhh the dude is going to be unbelievable his sr year IMHO.

I don't consider myself a very good evaluator when it comes to qb, wr, or db, but when it comes to front 7 I feel pretty confident in saying this kid will dominate in college.

 

[STLDomer]

Who?

Mind you, CAT is probably the single most "OK" position on the team in terms of quality depth outside of safety.

Definitely Weishar & Byrne and probably Trumbetti, Mustipher, Hayes, and Martini too. I think all of those guys are solid prospects but would give the edge to Williams for all of them.

My statement doesn't take into account depth or any of that, just head to head as a player who is better.

 

[Luckylucci]

1. Lax I respect your views but I think it may be a little exaggerated. I don't Coach Diaco would be investing so much time in recruiting this kid if he's nothing special. The staff has been sweating him a lot. The Ishaq reference doesn't stick with me because your talking about a prospect that still hasn't made an impact on our program and he's been here two years. Will he? Yes. But saying he's not half the prospect of Ishaq is a huge stretch.

2. I agree to an extent and that is why I have been trying to temper commit talk recently. Like others have stated he loves the spotlight and that's not changing. However that doesn't mean he isn't a good football player. Lastly, Mr. Elmer didn't do so well at some camps last summer and how'd that turn out for him. Anybody that doubted him ended up looking silly and the staff looked right. Doesn't have to happen here but I'm betting it does.

 

[irishog77]

Two points I've wanted to make for awhile but I know they won't be popular and will rub a lot of people the wrong way... but eff it:
1. I don't know if I've ever seen a more overrated prospect by the Irish fan base than Andrew Williams. And I don't really get why. The early interest? Rochelle connection? Not talking specifically about this board either, I see it on every single board I read. Lots of people saying "he is my #1 want" or that he would be THE guy in this class... come on people. There is nothing in his film or camp performances or anything else to suggest that he is a mega prospect. He has tons of offers from some really good schools because with his frame and overall athleticism he can play both OLB/DE and that makes him valuable and a fit for basically every program. There is a reason that basically every service has him rated as a low 4 and that is because for an edge rusher there is absolutely zero "wow" to his game. Doesn't have a dynamic first step, isn't freakishly fast, isn't freakishly athletic... he isn't half the prospect of an Ishaq Williams and not the quarter of a prospect of a Jaylon Smith. He's not even a Darius Fleming. So can we cool it with the "how important" this guy is to the class? He's just not. I think there are only 2... maybe 3 tops... current commits that I would trade for Andrew Williams right now. He's simply a low 4 OLB prospect; nothing more and nothing less.

2. The fact that he is so strongly looking at schools like Ole Miss, FSU, Auburn... that's a gigantic red flag. He's made multiple visits to each. I'm not sure if there are any three schools more different than Notre Dame.

With that being said, I still think we've probably got a 40-60% chance we land him and he'd be a great addition. But he's never been close to a ND lock, doesn't necessarily have the "ND" type mindset many assume he does, and isn't an instant impact difference maker nor a must get.

Completely agree and feel the same way with both points. Glad you brought these up and said it.

Who?

Mind you, CAT is probably the single most "OK" position on the team in terms of quality depth outside of safety.

I disagree here though. I mean, yeah, for this year, I think the depth is great. But looking ahead to '14, it's Ishaq (who we're all still waiting on to finally break out)...and Okwara? I think Okwara ends up at CAT (but how good will he be?) with Smith and Councell at DOG. If Okwara is pretty good this year as a CAT (or at least shows it in practice- don't know if he'll actually see much PT there this year in games), then I think the staff needs to land a pretty good prospect in this cycle...and/or a real blue chipper in the next cycle.

 

[IrishLax]

Definitely Weishar & Byrne and probably Trumbetti,

NO*

Mustipher

NO*

Hayes

no*

and Martini too.

if we weren't thin at OLB... sure*

I think all of those guys are solid prospects but would give the edge to Williams for all of them.

My statement doesn't take into account depth or any of that, just head to head as a player who is better.

*all ratings prefaced by "in my uneducated opinion that is no more valid than yours, and largely factoring in depth chart/need"

 

[EuropeanDomer]

We have very little information (and maybe knowledge) to make accurate evaluations of a HS player. In most of cases, all we can watch is a ****** tape with bad angles and very poor images. But like IrishLax said, if you ask me, i do not see nothing special on William's tape compared to other players.

Some people think that he will be a beast only because his shirtless photo.

 

[IrishLax]

I disagree here though. I mean, yeah, for this year, I think the depth is great. But looking ahead to '14, it's Ishaq (who we're all still waiting on to finally break out)...and Okwara? I think Okwara ends up at CAT (but how good will he be?) with Smith and Councell at DOG. If Okwara is pretty good this year as a CAT (or at least shows it in practice- don't know if he'll actually see much PT there this year in games), then I think the staff needs to land a pretty good prospect in this cycle...and/or a real blue chipper in the next cycle.

Next year we will have Ishaq, Jaylon (everyone keeps telling me his eventual spot is CAT), Okwara... plus an absolute bunch of guys who COULD play CAT including Trumbetti, Randolph (DOG/CAT but will start at ILB this year due to depth concerns), Councell (remember, he was a DE), Rabasa (was a comparable prospect to Williams, has been injured)... Jaylon likely floats between DOG/CAT with Ishaq and Councell playing quite a bit.

Then in '15 we would have Jaylon, Okwara, + any of the "could" guys that end up there + anyone we land in this class + anyone we land in the '15 class. And at the end of the day, the "CAT" can basically be played by a DE with his hand on the ground for plays where you want to rush the passer or completely taken off the field for a true LB/DB depending on the down/distance/coverage. The "CAT" only exists when you have someone versatile enough to play it and give you options, otherwise it is completely unnecessary and can be compensated for in a number of different fashions.

 

[irishog77]

Next year we will have Ishaq, Jaylon (everyone keeps telling me his eventual spot is CAT), Okwara... plus an absolute bunch of guys who COULD play CAT including Trumbetti, Randolph (DOG/CAT but will start at ILB this year due to depth concerns), Councell (remember, he was a DE), Rabasa (was a comparable prospect to Williams, has been injured)... Jaylon likely floats between DOG/CAT with Ishaq and Councell playing quite a bit.

Then in '15 we would have Jaylon, Okwara, + any of the "could" guys that end up there + anyone we land in this class + anyone we land in the '15 class. And at the end of the day, the "CAT" can basically be played by a DE with his hand on the ground for plays where you want to rush the passer or completely taken off the field for a true LB/DB depending on the down/distance/coverage. The "CAT" only exists when you have someone versatile enough to play it and give you options, otherwise it is completely unnecessary and can be compensated for in a number of different fashions.

Yeah, I mostly agree with all this.

I guess the still unknowns about LB positions and depth are why I originally said I disagreed with your comment about quality depth at CAT. Looking at CAT kind of in a vacuum (without regard for or towards M, W, D, or possibly even DE), then your post here makes more sense. I was looking at it kind of more all-encompasing.

 

[Irishman77]

YouTube

 

[koonja]

I think part of the hype is that he simply looks like a freak athlete. He looks like he belongs in the movie 300.

 

[LoveThee]

Would he be a great addition? Hell yea

Is he make or break to the class? **** no

 

[IrishFaninTX]

I think AW will be a great addition to the class. Are there better prospects we could take? Definitely. But I think part of the appeal for fans is that the DL is looking a little thin after 2013 if both Nix and Tuitt leave for the NFL and taking a decent 4 star player that the coaching staff can coach up is definitely appealing. At this point, I want big, athletic DL to commit and let Longo, Elston, and Diaco take care of the rest. If they are 4 star or higher and have great upside, sign em' up! Especially if it doesn't look like we are in position to land the big fish. I would hate to only go after the elite guys and get punked like with Omar Hunter. I know it has happened with Kelly, but he has shown he doesn't put all his eggs in 1 basket and is not afraid to go after guys he believes can be really good at ND regardless of star rankings. 2012 was a freaky year with so many last minute flips (and then the Tee situation). We should have been solid with both Darby and Tee committed and then we ended up with neither.

 

[Irishnuke]

Agree with everything Lax said. I don't get it either. I'm sure he'd be a good addition but no way is he a "must get." I hope we do land him but won't be heartbroken if we don't. I also see canceling his visit as a red flag. I'm sure everyone is going to disagree and say its no big deal but I don't see it that way. He's had this planned for a while and it's likely his parents knew their schedule ahead of time. Guess time will tell.

 

[peoriairish]

Fack it. I'm gunna go on record saying he doesn't end up at at ND. Not sure where he goes, but it's my opinion he's staying south. I hope I'm wrong.

 

[calvegas04]

Hope AW or his family isn't reading this thread..

 

[peoriairish]

Hope AW or his family isn't reading this thread..

Why? This sentiment never makes sense to me. We aren't bashing him as a person, just saying there are other prospects we like better or we think he'll end up elsewhere. This board and recruiting would be boring if we were high on everyone and everyone agreed. If Andrew is reading this, he can take it as bulletin board material and improve.

 

[IrishLax]

Hope AW or his family isn't reading this thread..

Why? It's going to hurt their feelings that I said he's a low 4 player?

Come on...

 

[calvegas04]

Why? It's going to hurt their feelings that I said he's a low 4 player?

Come on...

just saying a 17 year old high school student sees that fans of a school he is picking between are saying he is ranked to high and not a big need, might not help our chances.

 

[LoveThee]

Nobody said he is ranked too high or not a big need. People are just saying that he won't define this year's class. He is a good position at a position of need, he is very much wanted but people aren't over-valuing him and acting like he is necessary for this to be a good class

 

[TerryTate]

Okwara at CAT & Jaylon at DOG would be terrifying.

 

[anarin]

Fack it. I'm gunna go on record saying he doesn't end up at at ND. Not sure where he goes, but it's my opinion he's staying south. I hope I'm wrong.

I've thought this for awhile now. The things he has said in interviews really make me believe he is Clemson bound.

 

[dublinirish]

but he says on twitter rise and grind like every day, hes gotta be elite

 

[koonja]

but he says on twitter rise and grind like every day, hes gotta be elite

Lol, reps.

 

[peoriairish]

I've thought this for awhile now. The things he has said in interviews really make me believe he is Clemson bound.

Oh, I've thought it for a while too, but I'm officially putting my prediction out there. We shall see though.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Okwara at CAT & Jaylon at DOG would be terrifying.

This is the truth; that would be a mother!


LOL.

 

[T Town Tommy]

Nobody said he is ranked too high or not a big need. People are just saying that he won't define this year's class. He is a good position at a position of need, he is very much wanted but people aren't over-valuing him and acting like he is necessary for this to be a good class

He is not a defining player in any class. What he is - or at least should be - is a player that can come in a play a down or two in a 6-7 rotation on the D line. Instead of the Irish trying to hit home runs (Williams is not that yet) with one or two five star D linemen I would suggest trying to get 3-4 really good players that can rotate in and out throughout the game. Against elite teams I think you have to have 6-7 guys rotating to be able to make a difference in the late third and fourth quarters. There are some really good 3 star DL that can contribute some throughout the course of a game as well. Just my opinion...

 

[Sherm Sticky]

He is not a defining player in any class. What he is - or at least should be - is a player that can come in a play a down or two in a 6-7 rotation on the D line. Instead of the Irish trying to hit home runs (Williams is not that yet) with one or two five star D linemen I would suggest trying to get 3-4 really good players that can rotate in and out throughout the game. Against elite teams I think you have to have 6-7 guys rotating to be able to make a difference in the late third and fourth quarters. There are some really good 3 star DL that can contribute some throughout the course of a game as well. Just my opinion...

I think mostly everyone would agree with this statement.

Kona, Springman Chase, Matuska...are examples that come to mind of plays in this mold on the team currently.