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Notre Dame recruit fabricates visit to school just days after Manti Te’o hoax

In the aftermath of the Manti Te'o-Lennay Kekua hoax, one would think that anything and anyone remotely connected to Notre Dame would be particularly careful that anything they say related to the school is absolutely and completely accurate.

George Walton Academy WR Stanley Williams, who fabricated a visit to Notre Dame — Rivals.com
George Walton Academy WR Stanley Williams, who fabricated a visit to Notre Dame — Rivals.com

Evidently one top recruit missed the memo.

As reported by Rivals.com Notre Dame affiliate Irish Illustrated on the site’s message boards and a handful of other outlets, four star junior Bethlehem (Ga.) George Walton Academy running back Stanley Williams, a Georgia native who has committed to Georgia but is still visiting other schools, spoke about taking a visit to South Bend. That makes sense, since Williams was scheduled to visit Notre Dame on Saturday.

[Related: Manti Te'o story has no obvious criminal angle, it appears]

There was just one catch: He never made it to South Bend at all. Instead, Williams just gave an interview with Blue and Gold Illustrated as if he did.

“The visit went great,” Williams told the site. “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.

“Before I took the visit I was very interested in them since they were coming by my school and showing interest in me. After taking the visit there, they are definitely high up there on my list and a factor in my recruitment. They’re definitely an option for me to go to. I’m just looking forward to continuing building our relationship.”

It remains a question whether Notre Dame feels the same way now that Williams simply made up visiting the school the first time. While the wide receiver may have failed to catch on to the whole idea of being particularly careful in all things Notre Dame after the Te'o incident, he did step forward and immediately own up to his fabrications when asked about it by 247sports.

“No sir,” Williams said when asked after his initial quotes if he had visited the campus.

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