Paul
Myerberg, USA TODAY Sports
Stanley Williams, a four-star running back prospect from Monroe, Ga., loved
the on-campus visit he made to Notre Dame on Saturday. "The visit went
great," Williams told Will Biggers of Blue and Gold Illustrated, Notre
Dame's recruiting site for 247Sports.com.
Williams recounted his conversation with Notre Dame tight ends coach Scott
Booker, who said that an offer could be on the way soon.
"We had a great talk," Williams said to Biggers. "They said I could be
expecting an offer down the road and that I'd have the chance to come play for
them and go to their school. It's nice to know that I'll have an offer on the
way, so I'm just going to wait for that patiently. Coach Booker said that he
would be coming back down to Georgia to see me again, so I'm looking forward to
that."
The trip went really well, according to Williams.
The trip also never happened. Williams fabricated the trip from start to
finish, from the fact that he traveled to South Bend at all to, of course, the
in-person meeting with Booker regarding his pending scholarship offer.
Blue and Gold Illustrated's initial report went up on Sunday; Monday
afternoon, the site's recruiting editor, Jason Sapp, added an update: "The
report you're about to read is from a recruit that BlueandGold.com has now
learned never made it to South Bend for the visit."
According to Deadspin.com, another
247Sports.com editor, Rusty Mansell, "reached out to Williams to ask if he
had gone to Notre Dame." Williams' reply: "No sir."
Why would Williams fabricate an entire trip? It's not to get his name out
there: Williams, a member of the class of 2014, has given a verbal commitment to
Georgia and holds additional offers from Auburn, Clemson, Florida State and
Georgia Tech, according to 247Sports.com's recruiting database.
A better question might ask why Williams thought he could pull the wool over
the eyes of the "robust recruiting community," as Deadspin's Barry Petchesky
writes.
Another question: Is it possible to make it through this entire post without
mentioning Manti Te'o? Nope.
USA TODAY