'11 NY OLB Ishaq Williams (Signed ND LOI-EE)

[IrishSteelhead]

IMO the kid was just rated too high (happens every year with a lot of guys), and therefore the expectations were too high. He is a serviceable player by all means, but not the earth shaker many thought he would pan out to be. Can he shut my big fat mouth this year? Hell yes, and I'd welcome it.


*Side question for the recruiting junkies: Do you think IW would be a 5 star coming out if he played his HS ball in FL or TX? Did the small potatoes competition prop him up higher perhaps?

 

[IrishLax]

IMO the kid was just rated too high (happens every year with a lot of guys), and therefore the expectations were too high. He is a serviceable player by all means, but not the earth shaker many thought he would pan out to be. Can he shut my big fat mouth this year? Hell yes, and I'd welcome it.


*Side question for the recruiting junkies: Do you think IW would be a 5 star coming out if he played his HS ball in FL or TX? Did the small potatoes competition prop him up higher perhaps?

Great question. It's also why recruiting is such a crapshoot. He has 5 physical traits, no question. CoachD at the time on ISD remarked repeatedly though that his film was not good and that his rankings were an extrapolation of potential.

Then you have undersized guys like Kolin Hill with 5 film who are late bloomers and rated low 3 players.

 

[IrishSteelhead]

Great question. It's also why recruiting is such a crapshoot. He has 5 physical traits, no question. CoachD at the time on ISD remarked repeatedly though that his film was not good and that his rankings were an extrapolation of potential.

Then you have undersized guys like Kolin Hill with 5 film who are late bloomers and rated low 3 players.

I figured physical traits had a strong hand in his ranking. He reminds me of Alonzo Spellman from Ohio State in that regard. A physical beast that looks like he should dominate every play and for some reason never put it all together. Spellman on the Bears was so disappointing to watch, although he was very good in college.

 

[Blaise]

I think IW can have big year with hand in the dirt.... Take away space issues, just give him one job and with his tools, he should do it well

 

[irishff1014]

I don't think he was great last year but I think we can all say he wasn't lost. He did have some great pressure. I do think we will see him really turn it on this year.

 

[UmphreakDomer]

I'shaq is one of my favorites that i've followed from recruit (junior year) to now. it is save to say he is setting himself up as a bust. if he doesn't have more than 50 tackles with at least 25 TFL and at least 5 sacks...complete bust. i always wondered why they hadn't moved him to TE over the last two years. he played it in HS.

 

[JughedJones]

Why are you posting this? No comment or anything, just dropping off this mistake by Isaq and leaving it....I am confused.

Seems pretty assholish.

Someone (you) ((not you FLdomer,)) picks a bad play and necros a guy's thread so everyone thinks the worst?

Jerkish.

 

[yankeeND]

Great question. It's also why recruiting is such a crapshoot. He has 5 physical traits, no question. CoachD at the time on ISD remarked repeatedly though that his film was not good and that his rankings were an extrapolation of potential.

Then you have undersized guys like Kolin Hill with 5 film who are late bloomers and rated low 3 players.

That's a really good point. Measurables always seem to be what the experts drool over, yet a kid like Crawford, who I think is an absolute stud high 4 star maybe even low 5 star talent, doesn't get the praise he deserves. Kolin Hill is an even better example like you stated though because he got no love at all from all the sites. You can't measure heart, but you can measure production, especially when it's in Texas. Late bloomer or not, I expect huge things from him!

 

[Irish#1]

I'shaq is one of my favorites that i've followed from recruit (junior year) to now. it is save to say he is setting himself up as a bust. if he doesn't have more than 50 tackles with at least 25 TFL and at least 5 sacks...complete bust. i always wondered why they hadn't moved him to TE over the last two years. he played it in HS.

That's a pretty high mark to hit, even for proven studs.

 

[GoldenToTheGrave]

That's a really good point. Measurables always seem to be what the experts drool over, yet a kid like Crawford, who I think is an absolute stud high 4 star maybe even low 5 star talent, doesn't get the praise he deserves. Kolin Hill is an even better example like you stated though because he got no love at all from all the sites. You can't measure heart, but you can measure production, especially when it's in Texas. Late bloomer or not, I expect huge things from him!

AFA Crawford, I don't think you'll ever see a 5'8" CB as a 5*, or in the draft go in the 1st round. I think he'll end up as an stud nickle back, which is very valuable, isn't 5* worthy (which is also why kickers don't go higher than 3*).

 

[EuropeanDomer]

Joyner (5'8) was a 5* and no. 1 CB. He and Crawford are the same type of player. Maybe Joyner was higher because he played at St Thomas Aquinas with Marcus Roberson, Brandon Linder, Rashad Green, Cody Riggs, James White and Gio Bernard among others?

 

[stlnd01]

Obvs scouts - be they recruiting analysts or NFL types - drool over measurables. It's what they can see. It's why the Combine - a glorified meat market - is such a big deal. And they answer to coaches who imagine themselves the best equipped at molding the raw clay of an athlete into whatever it is their system wants of that person. Reality can be a little different, which is how you wind up with someone like K. Russell as our best cornerback in a long time.

As for Ishaq, I actually think he was a pretty solid contributor to our defense last year. Didn't rack up big stats but was good at creating situations that enabled some of his teammates to. Clearly he's best at rushing passers, worst at dropping into coverage like some sort of mammoth safety. But I think he'll have a good year, ring up some numbers, and get drafted in the middle rounds.

 

[Crazy Balki]

Obvs scouts - be they recruiting analysts or NFL types - drool over measurables. It's what they can see. It's why the Combine - a glorified meat market - is such a big deal. And they answer to coaches who imagine themselves the best equipped at molding the raw clay of an athlete into whatever it is their system wants of that person. Reality can be a little different, which is how you wind up with someone like K. Russell as our best cornerback in a long time.

As for Ishaq, I actually think he was a pretty solid contributor to our defense last year. Didn't rack up big stats but was good at creating situations that enabled some of his teammates to. Clearly he's best at rushing passers, worst at dropping into coverage like some sort of mammoth safety. But I think he'll have a good year, ring up some numbers, and get drafted in the middle rounds.

Agreed. Ishaq is at his best when he plants his hand in the dirt, which they rarely did last year with him. I guess Diaco was hoping to utilize his superior athleticism in coverage? I don't know. It's an idea. He's clearly better using his speed and athleticism moving forward, not backward.

 

[yankeeND]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Now or Never '14: Ishaq Williams - <a href="http://t.co/tYh5ieP4qE">http://t.co/tYh5ieP4qE</a> - Can the former 5-star fulfill his potential for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NotreDame?src=hash">#NotreDame</a> in 2014?</p>— UHND.com (@uhnd) <a href="https://twitter.com/uhnd/statuses/485873902539661312">July 6, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[FLDomer]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Now or Never '14: Ishaq Williams - <a href="http://t.co/tYh5ieP4qE">http://t.co/tYh5ieP4qE</a> - Can the former 5-star fulfill his potential for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NotreDame?src=hash">#NotreDame</a> in 2014?</p>— UHND.com (@uhnd) <a href="https://twitter.com/uhnd/statuses/485873902539661312">July 6, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

In the related articles at the bottom, they have an article "Now or Never '13: Ishaq Williams".....I really hope this is his yr to live up to the hype!

 

[yankeeND]

In the related articles at the bottom, they have an article "Ishaq Williams: Now or Never 2013".....I really hope this is his yr to live up to the hype!

Me too. Would be nice to have him explode this year and be a high draft pick!

 

[EuropeanDomer]

Ishaq Williams vs Oklahoma (2012) | Draft Breakdown

 

[Irish YJ]

My not so bold prediction..... Ishaq blows up this year in a big way in BVGs system.

On another topic, with some of the rumors about our previous DC being a dick, and not so liked by some players, I wonder if Ishaq was one of them. Anyone with insight, please PM me.

 

[Irish8248]

My not so bold prediction..... Ishaq blows up this year in a big way in BVGs system.

On another topic, with some of the rumors about our previous DC being a dick, and not so liked by some players, I wonder if Ishaq was one of them. Anyone with insight, please PM me.

I doubt it since Bobby D made his reputation with Ishaq. If a coach was that invested during your recruitment, then absent something drastic, it would be hard to believe he would choose Ishaq

 

[Praytorian]

I heard that prediction last year. Sorry I wont think I will fall for it again. Gimme a FROSH or someone who will step up and play.

 

[Ironman8]

I heard that prediction last year. Sorry I wont think I will fall for it again. Gimme a FROSH or someone who will step up and play.

He will be asked to do COMPLETELY different things this year vs. the previous 3. If there was any year he would break out / change, it would be this one.

Diaco's system played to some individuals strengths and other's weaknesses. The scheme was probably worst for Ishaq's talents out of anyone. I'm not predicting a monster year from him, but a very good one that is above some people's lowered expectations wouldn't surprise me at all. I don't even need individual #'s from him - collapsing pockets or penetrating into the backfield for others to clean up relatively often would make me ecstatic.

 

[Irish YJ]

I doubt it since Bobby D made his reputation with Ishaq. If a coach was that invested during your recruitment, then absent something drastic, it would be hard to believe he would choose Ishaq

see post above...

 

[ndfb3]

One year after Notre Dame football lost its starting QB, Everett Golson, for the 2013 season after he was caught cheating on an exam, the Fighting Irish team is dealing with the repercussions from more academic fraud.
This time, four starters have been dismissed from ND after the school conducted an internal investigation this summer, sources close to the program told FOX Sports.
The players being investigated are receiver DaVaris Daniels, defensive back KeiVarae Russell, defensive lineman Ishaq Williams and linebacker Kendall Moore.
It is unclear at this time if the four players will be allowed to return to the school in the future as Golson has after he sat out the entire fall semester. He returned to South Bend last winter and has won his old starting QB job.

The Irish, ranked No. 17 in the preseason coaches poll, open the year Aug. 30 against Rice.

Notre Dame dismisses four players connected academic fraud investigation | FOX Sports

 

[Domina Nostra]

So sad. That ISD story from a few weeks ago was all about how Ishaq's coach was proud of Ishaq for statying out of trouble and representing the city so well.

 

[koonja]

Per Kelly's presser, both Ishaq and Russel have told Kelly they want to return in 2015. GREAT news.

 

[Cpnd1]

Next year's defense could be unreal.

 

[ResLife Hero]

Per Kelly's presser, both Ishaq and Russel have told Kelly they want to return in 2015. GREAT news.

Agreed. Those 2 guys could be major assets for us in 2015, but still sucks to lose them this year.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Per Kelly's presser, both Ishaq and Russel have told Kelly they want to return in 2015. GREAT news.

Excellent! Hopefully Ishaq can persevere and get his degree. Is there a DL guru similar to Whitfield that he could train with in the off-season? Would love to see him finally pull it all together and realize that 5 potential we were so excited about in 2012.

 

[Ultimate Penn St. Hater]

Hope he makes it back.

 

[Cackalacky]

Excellent! Hopefully Ishaq can persevere and get his degree. Is there a DL guru similar to Whitfield that he could train with in the off-season? Would love to see him finally pull it all together and realize that 5 potential we were so excited about in 2012.