Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Offer From Irish Flips Former Missouri Commit By Tom Loy B errien Springs (Mich.) High strongside defensive end Jhonathon Williams had been committed to the University of Missouri since September, but rumblings of a potential decommitment started as soon as Notre Dame offered Nov. 13. commitment profile jhonathon Williams The 6-6, 237-pound prospect had an impressive senior campaign and ended up adding offers from the Fighting Irish, Michigan and Washington over a 10-day span in November. The talented defensive lineman finally had a chance to play close to home, and it was an opportunity that he couldn't pass up. "Proximity to where I live definitely played a role in my commitment," Williams said. "I've always wanted to be close to home, but I never really had that chance. Missouri isn't too far, but even that was going to be too difficult for my family to see me play. Notre Dame is the ideal fit for me. It's 30 minutes away, and my close friends and family can always see me play." On Nov. 27, Williams made the call to head coach Brian Kelly and let him know that he was ready to commit to Notre Dame. Just three days prior, Williams spent the weekend in South Bend for his official visit and that's when he realized that he had found his new 247Sports ranks Williams as a three-star prospect, the No. 37 defensive end in the country and the No. 15 recruit in Michigan. photo by Tom Loy home for the next four years. "Coach Kelly was really excited," Williams noted. "He welcomed me to the Notre Dame family and told me that I was a guy that they were really excited about. He told me to keep doing what I'm doing and get ready to compete right away when I get here. "I took the official visit for the BYU game and the decision became even easier. Being around all the current commits, the other recruits, the coaches and the players just felt perfect. The cold wasn't perfect, but I don't mind playing in that. Other than that, it really was a perfect weekend." After pledging to the Tigers months