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Brooklyn, NY native Ishaq Williams and three other Notre Dame football players (receiver DaVarius Daniels, defensive back KeiVarae Russell and linebacker Kendall Moore) have been accused of ¬†‚Äúhonor code violations,” according to multiple media reports.
The violations are believed to be some type of academic fraud. According to the South Bend Tribune’s Eric Hansen:
“the scale of alleged fraud is comparable to the highly publicized case at the University of North Carolina.”
The players are accused of handing in work that is not there own. These violations may result in Notre Dame having to forfeit its undefeated 2012 regular season. A report on Yahoo! Sports states:
“Under NCAA protocol, if any fraud that occurred impacted players’ eligibility, the school could ultimately vacate victories. Both Daniels and Russell were significant players during Notre Dame’s 2012 season, when the Irish went 12-0 before losing to Alabama in the BCS Championship Game.”
Former SU coach Doug Marrone heavily recruited Williams in 2010 because of his New York roots. According to rivals.com, the defensive coordinator at the time, Scott Shafer, was the main SU coach trying to recruit Williams. The 5-star defensive lineman was ranked as the seventh best defensive end in the country at the time of his commitment. He ended up choosing Notre Dame over SU and Penn State.
Williams played in all but two games over the last two seasons for the Fighting Irish. He made his first career start as a junior against Air Force. He does not have eye-popping statistics (he has never recorded a sack), but was definitely set to play an important role for Notre Dame this season.
While Notre Dame president Rev. John Jenkins has said that the players have not been dismissed from school, all four have been benched from playing football and the academic fraud investigation is under way.
Posted by: Connor Morrissette 
