(Update: 9:01p ESPNNewYork.com is reporting Ishaq’s high school coach at Lincoln¬†says he will¬†delay his decision. Ishaq’s coach says¬†he will¬†not be¬†reopening the process and Williams is still choosing among Syracuse, Penn State and Notre Dame.¬†The coach¬†did not mention Miami.)
(Update: 7:41p The New York Post is reporting that Ishaq has postponed his announcement and will not make the decision tomorrow. “Lincoln All-American Ishaq Williams will not commit tomorrow, The Post has learned, at the US Army game. He will still pick among Penn State, Syracuse and Notre Dame sometime next week. He will NOT be taking a visit to Miami.”)
(Update: 7:20p¬† The Fizz has learned we may no longer be the final few hours before Ishaq Williams announces his decision.¬†There is¬†new information regarding two other schools status in the Williams race. A source who is in San Antonio and talked to Ishaq today tells The Fizz the DE prospect is wavering on making an annoucement because he’s still not sure.
The Fizz believes Miami is out. Al Golden and crew simply got into the race too late and couldn’t make up the ground gained by Syracuse, Notre Dame, and, yes, Penn State. The Nittany Lions are now back in the hunt for Williams after seemingly having been eliminated. However hurting the Penn State chances is the fact that Defensive Coordinator Tom Bradley is reportedly leaving to take the head coaching job Pittsburgh.
Williams is allegedly hung up on an undisclosed and unspecified problem at one school, which The Fizz believes is the DC situation at Penn State. At the moment All-American Bowl reps believe he’s still set to make his decision tomorrow.
Ishaq gets one more night to sleep on both the decision and the decision to make the decision. We just hope he wakes up seeing Orange.
Posted: Craig Hoffman and Andrew Kanell
* * *
A source tells The Fizz that Ishaq Williams may be leaning toward Syracuse on the eve of his decision. The elite defensive recruit is scheduled to make his choice tomorrow as part of the All-American Bowl. Officials in San Antonio have told us he is still slated to announce his intent during the festivities.
The source says the New York connection and a trust in Doug Marrone has drawn Ishaq toward the Orange, plus the Pinstripe Bowl was a game-changer.
“The thing is, Syracuse feels really, really good to him. His mom and dad went there, and he’s obviously really close to his dad. The Pinstripe Bowl thing was huge for him. Fans were coming up and high-fiving him. ‘Cuse won and all that. That was big. And him and his dad really like Marrone.”
So, where does the lineage and tradition of the Irish fit into the mix?
“This thing really was down to just ‘Cuse and Notre Dame, and obviously the whole thing – history, the National Championships, all the legends that played there – makes Notre Dame really interesting, ya know? I mean, why wouldn’t it?
This week has been soaked in drama regarding Ishaq and the Miami rumors. On Wednesday, word leaked that his decision may have been delayed as Al Golden made a late push. The Fizz confirmed one of Golden’s first acts on the job was a trip to New York to visit Williams’ high school.
“I think he (Golden) swooped in and tried to tell him, ‘Hey, it’s ‘the U.’ You can be one of the greats – like Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Warren Sapp – things like that. And Ishaq was always like, when he was growing up, ‘Damn, yeah. I wanna be a ‘Cane!’ But ‘the U’ just kinda came outta nowhere.”
So where will one of the most-decorated and highly-sought recruits be playing this fall?
“My gut is, I think it’s gonna be Syracuse. That’s not set in stone, because he’s being really tight-lipped. Like even his closest friends don’t know. But yeah, I just got a feeling. But I guess we’ll see Saturday.”
The Fizz will be live blogging all day tomorrow, starting with the All-American Bowl and continuing through Ishaq’s decision. Follow @orangefizz for constant updates and keep checking The Fizz throughout the day tomorrow.
Posted: D.A.
20 responses to “I-Team: Ishaq Delays Decision, Penn State Back in, Syracuse Still Solid”
I know you guys went to the ‘Cuse, so you should know that you never write a lead like “could” or “might” b/c you could easily write the inverse with the same info known.
So the crux of the piece is that he might sign? We already knew that. While you’re source did advance the story, your headline should have been reflective of that.
Is that Dean Rubin commenting on posts again?! Newhouse Ned, the floor is yours. Let’s play “write that Fizz headline!”
Is this WRT 205?
All in good fun DA:)
I would have written “Ishaq to Notre Dame” 🙂
Hey NewhouseNed, we all know what is being written about here. This is not a story about Governor Cuomo’s state of the state address. This is a story about an 18 year old football recruit’s college decision. We all know, or at least some of us know, that stories like this should be taken for what they are worth. Applying political correctness to this situation is going a bit overboard don’t you think. Fizz, keep up the good work and don’t worry about Mr. Perfect Ned.
I know this is unrelated to Ishaq, but we all remember the beautiful August day when Cuse fans got the news that Rakeem Christmas made his decision to come to Syracuse… well, I was doing some reading on him today, and you all have to see this. It is a Georgetown fan site, and the fans went berserk over this. So funny, read it…
http://www.casualhoya.com/2010/8/6/1608944/apocalypse-now-rakeem-christmas-to
I agree with NewhouseNed. The operative phrase is “may be leaning” toward ‘cuse, which still leaves his decision wide open. This is analogous to the Post-Standard telling us for years that Destiny USA “may” become a reality. Anyway, if IW does come, isn’t he sure to be one-and-done?
Can’t be a one and done in football. Have to be 2 years out of highschool to declare for the draft. Nice work though.
You actually have to be 3 years removed from H.S., not 2 years. The Sophomores that declare are redshirt Sophomores.
this commit would be HUGEEEE for CUSE and it would be on Natinal TV he would be a hero in the CUSE if he commited.
Talking to my cousin as we speak who played with him at Lincoln. I hear he’s very overrated. The publicity factor will help. He got those offers because his father marketed him well.
A source close to me says the sun is blue. Let’s not go off half cocked here boys.
you have to be kidding me AM … every report out of the Army all american bowl is that this kid is the best DE in camp and that his first move is unblockable
This is where we need someone like a Dwight Freeney to get in touch with Williams. Best of my knowledge it’s not recruiting violation for alumni to help recruit. Freeney still pretty tight with SU program from what I understand. Simple phone call could pay HUGE benefits
Just word from a former teammate. Trust me, I want him to come to my alma mater and be sucessful. My cousin isn’t the type to talk shit.
Fizz team, your twitter icon on the home page is broken. Bad link in the code.
This is getting crazy. Honestly, if he’s this unsure right now, the decision isn’t happening tomorrow
AM are you serious? He got invited to the Army Bowl and scholarship offers from Notre Dame and Penn State because of marketing by his father? Go back and read the scouting reports. Sorry, but your cousin is talking shit. Maybe in his defense he is remebering him as an underclassman, but it sounds like a little jealousy to me.
Hey NewhouseNed, if you’re going to be a condescending asshole about headlines and other things taught at Newhouse, at least know the difference between you’re and your. It might make you seem a bit more intelligent.
Any insight regarding when Williams is planning to enroll?
I’ve read on other sites that he wants to enroll early (starting this upcoming semester). But, Penn St.’s classes start on Monday (1/10/11), whereas ND and SU both start on the 18th…so, either PSU isn’t really in the running, or enrolling early is secondary to his decision…