Four-star athlete sets surprise Notre Dame football recruiting visit
A four-star “athlete” in the 2026 recruiting class is visiting Notre Dame on Tuesday. Tampa (Fla.) Carrollwood Day sophomore DJ Williams announced on social media that he has plans to check out the Fighting Irish.
Notre Dame offered the 6-foot-1, 160-pounder as a safety on March 17 for Pot of Gold Day. Eighty-five other 2025 prospects — including six safeties — reported new offers from the Irish during the St. Patrick’s Day-themed recruiting event.
According to the On3 Industry Ranking — a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services — Williams is the No. 269 overall player, No. 42 wide receiver in the nation and No. 56 prospect in Florida.
On3 also currently considers Williams a wide receiver recruit. He is the No. 81 player at his position nationally and the No. 76 recruit in the Sunshine State in On3’s own rankings. On3 rates him as a three-star prospect.
In addition to Notre Dame, 16 other schools have offered him a scholarship. He reports ones from Boston College, Florida State, Indiana, Louisville, Michigan, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Texas A&M and UCF.
Notre Dame is the first school Williams has reported visiting this spring. Last football season, he saw games at Florida State, South Carolina and UCF. Williams also visited Texas about a year ago. However, the Longhorns did not offer him a scholarship.
According to MaxPreps, as a sophomore in 2023, Williams registered 29 solo tackles, 2 interceptions and 2 pass breakups. On offense, he caught 14 passes for 217 yards (15.5 yards per catch) and 1 touchdown.
The Irish already have one commit from Tampa, Fla., in the 2025 recruiting cycle. Jesuit four-star running back Justin Thurman pledged to Notre Dame on Aug. 1. The 6-foot, 180-pound Thurman is the No. 26 running back in the country and No. 48 prospect in Florida, per the On3 Industry Ranking.
In the 2024 recruiting cycle, the Irish offered four Carrollwood Day recruits: defensive back Tavoy Feagin, EDGE Solomon Williams, running back Anthony Carrie and wide receiver Bredell Richardson. Feagin and Williams never visited Notre Dame and signed with Clemson and Texas A&M, respectively.
Richardson, a three-star, visited Notre Dame on June 2, 2022, before his junior season. However, the Irish filled their third wide receiver spot in the 2024 class with four-star Logan Saldate from Salinas (Calif.) Palma.
Carrie, also a three-star, had a June official visit scheduled with the Irish. But that visit did not happen after Notre Dame secured an early June commitment from four-star running back Kedren Young of Lufkin (Texas) High.
Richardson and Carrie signed with UCF and Georgia tech, respectively.
