Iowa State CB Jontez Williams sets transfer portal visit to Notre Dame

Notre Dame football isn’t the only visit destination for former Iowa State cornerback Jontez Williams. The transfer portal prospect already has visits lined up to three programs in the coming week, per On3’s Hayes Fawcett.

Williams will start his visits Saturday with a trip to USC. Then he’s scheduled to visit Notre Dame on Monday into Wednesday before heading to Florida on Thursday.

Williams suffered a season-ending ACL injury to his right knee in his redshirt junior season this past fall. He’s looking for a new college home to play his final season of NCAA eligibility.

On3 ranks the 5-foot-11, 200-pound Williams as the No. 1 cornerback and the No. 9 overall transfer portal prospect this cycle. Williams started 19 games at cornerback for Iowa State in the past three seasons.

Williams became a primary starter for Iowa State as a redshirt sophomore in 2024. He started 12 games and played in all 14 for a 11-3 team that lost to Arizona State in the Big 12 Championship Game. He intercepted four passes, one each in four consecutive games, and broke up five passes in coverage. He tallied 46 tackles and two for a loss in 2024.

Williams started the first five games of 2025 before his knee injury. He recorded 15 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, one interception and three pass breakups.

Notre Dame is expected to return both of its starting cornerbacks from last season: junior-to-be Leonard Moore, a unanimous All-American, and senior-to-be Christian Gray. The Irish could be evaluating Williams as a potential nickel back, though he rarely played as a slot cornerback during his Iowa State career.

Notre Dame added nickel backs via the transfer portal in each of the previous three offseasons: Oklahoma State’s Thomas Harper in 2023, Arizona State’s Jordan Clark in 2024 and Alabama’s DeVonta Smith in 2025. All three spent just their final season of eligibility with the Irish.