(UHND.com) – With one of the major needs of this year’s recruiting class is defensive tackle, Notre Dame got some great news Tuesday with the commitment of Ian Williams. Williams, a Florida native, picked the Irish over Auburn and Clemson.
Williams (6’2”, 295, 5.0) took a second look at Notre Dame this past weekend with an unofficial visit and it was enough to seal the deal for the Florida defensive tackle prospect. The home state Gators were the early leaders for Williams, but they started to run out of scholarships early and cooled on Williams which left the door wide open for the Irish.
Notre Dame and Charlie Weis were more than willing to step in when the Gators cooled with defensive tackle being a priority position for the Irish this year.
Williams fills an immediate void in this year’s class with no true defensive tackles committed to the Irish. With the relative lack of depth the Irish have along the interior defensive line on the roster for next year, Williams could also add depth to the defensive tackle rotation as early as next season.
Right now, Williams is a bit raw, but shows a good burst off the line of scrimmage and has pretty good strength. Where Williams will need work is in his technique since he won’t be able to rely in his size and speed on the college level where he will be going up against bigger, stronger, faster offensive linemen.
Williams is now the third prospect the Irish have been able to secure a commitment from out of the state of Florida – joining Armando Allen and Emeka Nwankwo. The Sunshine State hasn’t always been as kind to the Irish it has the last two years under Weis, but in the last two seasons, Notre Dame has recruited six prospects from Florida.
Notre Dame is most likely not done recruiting at defensive tackle with Williams. The Irish will look to add at least another tackle to this class with Will Blackwell and Jason Peters being the two most likely candidates of the remaining prospects.
