2024 LB/S Gabriel Williams Ready To Check Out Notre Dame

Gabriel Williams‍ is listed as a linebacker, but Notre Dame sees the 2024 Maryland defender as much more than that.

Safeties coach Chris O’Leary extended an offer to the St. Frances Academy star on behalf of the Irish back in March as a guy with the ability to play multiple positions.

“He was telling me he loved my high school film,” the 6-foot-4, 190-pounder said of O’Leary. “I played every position; I played outside linebacker, safety and corner.

“He was saying my film reminded him of Kyle Hamilton and that I could be that missing piece that they need since he just got drafted. Coach O'Leary says he sees Kyle Hamilton's film in mine. That meant a lot.”

Williams’ offer sheet also includes schools like Maryland, Penn State, West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Boston College and Ole Miss among others.

His ultimate position is likely to be “TBD” for a while.

“Coach O'Leary said it depends on how much I weigh,” Williams explained. “If I go in there still able to move, he said they'll put me at safety. But if I gained a lot of weight and keep growing, I'd probably be closer in the box.”

Williams admitted he likes to do a bit of both.

“I like the hybrid,” he said. “I like to be in the box, but still be able to cover. I like to hit. Mostly, I like to hit a lot.”

Williams has made visits to Penn State, Maryland and West Virginia already, but that’s about it. That’ll change next week, when he heads to Notre Dame’s BBQ.

“I'm super excited,” he said. “First of all, I've never been to South Bend. This is my first visit that's pretty far away. It's like nine hours away, so I'm excited.”

In addition to O’Leary, Williams has been in contact with Dre Brown and Al Golden.

“They've been flooding my DMs with posters of me coming to camps,” he said. “They just want me to come up there, so I'm excited.”

Williams is looking forward to getting a feel for the family vibe within the Notre Dame program.

“Especially if I go far away for college, I need to know that I have people around me who don't just care about football,” he said. “I just want to get the family vibe and education. I really care about my education.”

It’s early enough in the process that Williams doesn’t even fully know what to expect from a visit like this one.

“Honestly, I haven't been on a lot of visits, so that's a tough question for me – what I'm really looking for in a college – because I haven't really been to a lot. I don't really know what I really want in the whole thing. I'm just going with the flow. The more colleges I see, the more I'll have an understanding of what I really want in college.”

Following Notre Dame, Williams will head back to Penn State for the Nittany Lions’ event on July 30 and could make stops at Ohio State and Cincinnati while in the Midwest.

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