Cam Williams And Notre Dame Were A Perfect Fit
Notre Dame continued to add premier talent to its 2024 recruiting class on Wednesday, securing a commitment from Glen Ellyn (Ill.) Glenbard South wide receiver Cam Williams. The Illinois standout is already rated as one of the premier pass catchers in his class.
The talent is easy to see on the field. The fit from that vantage point was a no brainer for the Fighting Irish staff. According to his head coach, Ryan Crissey, Williams is an ideal fit for the Notre Dame program from every perspective.
“I think Cam is going to fit seamlessly into their program,” Crissey said. “Everything that Notre Dame values, Cam epitomizes. He really is the complete package.”
Crissey started off the interview by gushing about just how special of a football player Notre Dame is getting. Just finishing up his sophomore year, he also hasn’t hit close to his ceiling yet.
There isn’t much he can’t do on the football field. His ceiling is so ridiculously high,” Crissey explained. “That’s just it, Cam is really a true football player. From a receiving perspective, he’s an explosive athlete, has good hand skills, his body control is unreal and the tempo he uses as a route runner is just unmatched.
“We utilize him heavily as a possession receiver in the offense, if we need something we might just throw him a hitch or something quick but he has the ability to really take the top off of the defense,” he continued. “I mean he went to the Irish Invasion and ran a 4.47 in the forty yard dash and broad jumped something like 10’2”. He’s an incredible natural athlete.”
Although the natural skill would be enough to live off of, Williams also brings a high level of physicality and attitude to the position. This allows him to set himself apart in multiple facets of his game, along with his developing frame.
“He’s also a tenacious perimeter blocker,” Crissey explained. “Cam has a great frame and is up to about 190 pounds right now that can still add a lot of good weight. He may even play some defense for us because he is just a physical football player.”
It isn’t often that this caliber of athlete comes around the Glenbard South program. Williams is a trend setter for his program and Crissey understands just how fortunate they are to have an athlete of this caliber.
“Last year was the first year that we haven’t had an FBS level player sign,” he said. “This is by far our biggest commitment though. We had a kid go to Illinois about ten years ago but the attention has never been to this level. Welcoming so many great coaches nationally to the school was huge for our program. It was really a secondary benefit for us and we’re all grateful.
“It’s been really special. When we had our first day of summer camp, we had about 120 kids who were in the program cram into the gym to start the process,” he continued. “You would hear the freshman there just whispering to one another, 'That’s him, that’s Cam Williams'.”
Even players outside of the Glenbard South program have taken notice of Williams. The added attention is something that the talented pass catcher is also not shying away from.
“We also just got done with a 7-on-7 and there were other kids coming up to him,” Crissey said. “They’d ask like 'Have you met CJ Carr?, do you know Jack Larsen?' and just yell, 'Go Irish!' Cam doesn’t shy away from the kids who want to ask him questions. He isn’t a big timer in any way but he’s just a really good kid who wants to do right by people.”
As usually is the case with Notre Dame caliber recruits, Williams is a thoughtful and well researched young man who had clear criteria for finding the perfect school. It is hard to believe that this level of maturity has been achieved at such a young age.
“Cam just turned 16 years old and he is way more mature than his age,” Crissey noted. “He is truly wise beyond his years. Everything has definitely happened significantly faster over the last couple of years, especially this year but he did a great job prioritizing things that were important to him and taking everything in stride.”
Crissey played a big role in this recruitment, but he was not forced to get overly involved. With how Williams was so effectively able to tackle the recruiting process, Crissey was left to assume a hands off role to give his perspective when needed.
“My main job was to help him process everything. From a football perspective, there really isn’t a bad choice,” he explained. “We wanted to make sure he considered everything, looked at the academic side of things and how they would develop him. I wanted to help him process but not steer.”
In the end, Notre Dame just made too much sense for Williams and his family. That criteria he had for his decision was all checked off enthusiastically.
“Notre Dame checked all the boxes he was looking for. Cam likes the concept of a smaller school and structure, while also being a young man of tremendous faith,” Crissey said. “Coach (Marcus) Freeman summed it up perfectly, there’s no place you are going to get an Ivy League education, fight to make the playoffs and still prepare for the NFL.”
Williams joins a 2024 recruiting class for Notre Dame that looks like it could contend for the top overall class nationally in the cycle. He is the fifth commitment in the class, all of which rank as four-star caliber recruits. The Illinois standout currently ranks as the No. 75 overall player and No. 12 wide receiver in the class according to the On3 consensus ranking.
The 6-2, 185-pound pass catcher is coming off of a dominant sophomore campaign, including leading the squad with 681 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns on just 37 receptions. That was good enough for an 18.4 yards per reception average.
He chose Notre Dame over finalists that included Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Cincinnati. Williams also held offers from Michigan State, Iowa State, Minnesota, Purdue, Arizona State, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Duke, Syracuse, Vanderbilt, and Kansas among others.
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