Alabama OC shares three things that stand out about freshman WR Ryan Williams
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The hardest thing for freshman wide receivers is getting lined up, said Alabama offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan. But that hasn’t been an issue for Five-Star Plus wideout Ryan Williams, who has now completed three Crimson Tide practices.
“That has never been an issue for him,” Sheridan said on Saturday. “He has been on it as far as recognition of communication, whether it be signals, in the huddle or whatever it may be.
“Lining up properly, all the varieties of formations and motions and shifts that we do, that’s probably the first hurdle for anybody is just to get lined up properly. … He’s been fantastic that way.”
Williams was the highest-rated player in Alabama’s 2024 signing class, joining the Tide a year early via reclassification. The Saraland, Alabama native was rated as the nation’s No. 5 overall player in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Rankings, and a lot of eyes have been on him throughout the Crimson Tide’s first three days of preseason camp.
But the fact Williams should be a high school senior doesn’t result in any brake-pumping.
“We don’t think about it too much,” Sheridan said. “He’s acclimated himself. He’s great with the team. I think his teammates respect him because of how hard he works. I think that’s how you earn the trust of your teammates, by working really hard. So no, I wouldn’t say we spend too much time thinking about it. He’s hopping right in there, and he’s competing at a high level.”
Williams has been praised for his maturity throughout UA’s offseason, and that continued on Saturday when offensive coaches and players spoke with local reporters after practice. But he has also impressed on the field. His coaches and teammates gushed over the plays he made during Alabama’s player-run practices. That has carried over to fall camp.
“He’s very explosive, and he tracks the ball really well,” Sheridan said. “I think those are the two things that kind of stand out and been surprising. He’s a very explosive player, he tracks the ball really well and he’s mature. He’s a mature competitor for a young player. Lot of work to do. He has things that he’s working on each and every day, and Coach Shep is pouring into him. But certainly for a young player, I think the maturity stands out.
“Very explosive and very good ball skills.”
Alabama WR Ryan Williams (Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY Sports)
Echoed Alabama wide receiver Kendrick Law, “Deucey Doo, he’s been great.
“He’s fun. He goes out there. He does him, and he’s always gonna be Ryan. He’s gonna be Hollywood, he’s gonna make plays and he’s gonna get up and do what he do.”
As a summer enrollee, Williams had some catching up to do. But he utilizes veteran players like Law and some of the Tide’s other receivers for advice as he adapts to the college level.
“Ryan comes to me with a lot of things,” Law said. “I give him my opinion from it, and I tell him that’s my side of it. I’m a different body build than him, so I tell him he can go speak to other guys and he gets his piece from it and he takes what he can and he puts it together. That’s what Ryan does great.
“And when he puts these things together and goes and excels on the field, he does it at a high level.”
Williams’ talent is clear. But even former elite recruits aren’t perfect. What stands out about the promising freshman, however, is how he embraces criticism from his new coaches.
“He is a phenomenal human being,” said Alabama wide receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard. “The young man legitimately takes hard coaching. Hey, you wanna sit down and kind of talk through it with him and draw it up for him – you can coach that kid any kind of way that you want to, and he responds to it at a high level.”
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