Notre Dame hasn’t signed many top-50 prospects at wide receiver over the last decade, so when they do, fans get excited about the possibilities. Cam Williams is the most recent receiver who generated an abundance of excitement when he signed with Notre Dame and everyone has high expectations of the player he can become.
We didn’t get to see any glimpses of that as a freshman, though. He redshirted and the buzz about him was muted because of that. Now in his second year in South Bend, everyone is anxiously waiting to see him on the field this season.
Before that happens, he has to earn it in practice. With Malachi Fields not on campus until this summer and Micah Gilbert out for the spring after breaking his hand, that’s given Williams an opportunity to get a ton of reps at boundary receiver position this spring after working mostly at the field in his first year.
Williams has approached this spring with the mindset that Marcus Freeman wants his players to have. He’s staying in the moment and focusing on each rep because he knows the future will take care of itself. That attention to detail has helped him get better in a key area.
“Route running, for sure, being able to expand my [route] tree,” Williams said when asked about where he’s improved the most this spring. “Taking the initiative over the offseason to work on routes and footwork and all that stuff.”
That was something Williams needed to hone in on because he came to Notre Dame with the athletic talent to succeed right away. He had elite results in the 100, 200, and long jump in track and field in high school. Receivers coach Mike Brown has been preaching to him to let Williams’ athleticism shine as much as possible.
“It's just I think one of my best qualities is playing fast, running, using my speed to my advantage,” Williams stated. “Maybe I'll hear it every now and then, but it's more so a second-nature thing, being able to comfortably play fast.”
Brown is witnessing that happen with Williams this spring and can see a massive difference compared to the player Williams was last year. The progress he’s made is being tested by going against who many consider to be the top cornerback in the country heading into this season.
“Cam to me feels like a completely different guy this spring than he was last spring,” Brown said. “Now, he still has a ways to go and this spring will be huge for him. I think he's off to a good start.
“He's got good talent, right? We've played him into the boundary a little bit and he's going against Leonard Moore every single play. And so last year I would've never put him in front of Leonard Moore, you know what I mean? So it's just good. This experience is going to be really good for him to continue his growth, but he's done a good job. I think he's building some confidence in what he's doing. I'm very pleased with that.”
Williams is more confident as well and knowing what Brown’s expectations are for him has helped him get more comfortable on the field. Fans might not have been able to see the growth Williams had over the past year, but he knows he’s a much better player now than he was in his first spring at Notre Dame.
“I think, most importantly, it kind of gives me a calmer presence, knowing that I’ve done it before,” Williams said when asked about the knowledge he’s gained from year one at Notre Dame. “If you get into kind of a panic mode, you’re able to come back and dial that in. And just also from a skill standpoint, too, I know, for sure, that I'm a better player now than I was 365 days ago. So, it's just, honestly, almost like a whole new experience for me.”
Everyone wants to know whether or not Williams will start to be the player he is projected to be this season. Notre Dame’s offense could benefit greatly from having an explosive option like him ready to roll in the passing game.
Williams understands that he needs to focus on the process in order for that to happen, which is why consistency from rep to rep is what matters the most to him this spring.
“I mean, just quality. Obviously, every rep is not going to be a perfect rep. But if I could go through every rep and succeed — or not, at the end of the day, I’m still learning from it, and just getting consistency.”
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