Based on the twists and turns the Manti Te’o saga has taken over the past week, of course someone did that.
Sunday, 2014 recruit and Georgia verbal commitment Stanley Williams spoke glowingly to 247Sports.com‘s Notre Dame website regarding a visit he had taken to the school over the weekend.
“The visit went great,” Williams said. “It was great to experience something new and different, and we had a great time at the game. I had been looking forward to it for a while, and it was great to just get out there and see a new place. I plan on getting up there a couple more times in the future.”
Williams added that while he was interested in the Irish prior to the visit, "[a]fter taking the visit there, they are definitely high up there on my list and a factor in my recruitment.
The only problem? Williams never actually visited the school.
In a note posted this afternoon atop the original story, the site wrote “BlueandGold.com has now learned [Williams] never made it to South Bend for the visit.” Why Williams, who is one of the top players in the state of Georgia, would make up a story about visiting Notre Dame is not known.
It’s not like the player needs the attention; he already holds offers from, among others, Auburn, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, LSU, Mississippi State, Oregon, South Carolina and Tennessee. 247Sports.com rates him as the No. 4 all-purpose back in the country in the Class of 2014, while Rivals.com has him listed as a four-star recruit.
What the recruiting trail repercussions will be for Williams is unclear. Jason Sapp, editor of Blue & Gold Illustrated, likely summed up the short-term damage as it pertains to the Irish with an open-ended tweet posted on his Twitter account.
“If a recruit is looking for a quick way to drop off of a program’s big board...”
(Tip O’ the Cap: SBNation.com)