Notre Dame Football: Irish get significant crystal ball prediction

One day after hosting top-100 wide receiver C.J. Williams, Notre Dame football started trending as the favorite in his recruitment. 

Notre Dame football has been exceptional on the recruiting trail in the 2022 class and right now, the Fighting Irish have the second-ranked class according to the 247 sports composite rankings.

So far the Irish have landed 16 verbal commitments in the 2022 class and 11 of those are four-star prospects. Notre Dame football is also trending with a top-100 running back in Nicholas Singleton out of Pennsylvania, plus the Irish picked up more crystal balls on Sunday.

And guess what, Notre Dame is now trending with another top-100 recruit, and this time it’s wide receiver C.J. Williams out of Mater Dei in Santa Ana, California.

Mater Dei is one of the top private school programs in the country and while USC generally does pretty well recruiting there, the Irish have made a real move with Williams, who is ranked 74th overall according to the 247 sports composite rankings.

The 6-foot-2, 193-pound wideout is electrifying and there’s a reason why 247 sports has him rated 47th overall, which isn’t far off from five-star territory, in its own rankings. Here’s his scouting report from 247 sports:

"“Advanced route runner who is smart and understands how to set up a corner, when to settle into a zone, and doesn’t run himself out of being open. Natural pass catcher with good jump ball skills. Does a nice job winning 50-50 balls but can continue to improve strength and catching the ball through contact. Shows a nice upside and projects as an impact upper-tier Power 5 starter and potential high round NFL draft pick.”"

If you look at the teams pushing for Williams right now, it’s a who’s who of elite programs. Ohio State, Alabama, USC, and Texas are listed as “warm” on his 247 sports profile. Georgia, Michigan, LSU, and a number of others offered too.

However, the Irish appear to be the favorite at this point as they picked up a pair of crystal ball projections for Williams following his trip to South Bend over the weekend from a couple of Notre Dame insiders for 247, Tom Loy and Kevin Sinclair.

Both used a confidence level of six on a scale of 1-10. It sounds like Williams could be making a decision fairly soon and as of right now, it looks like he will be joining Notre Dame’s elite recruiting class.