The Alabama Crimson Tide has struggled a bit on the offensive side of the ball so far this season as Kalen DeBoer’s system has yet to fully translate and the unit at times looks like it’s lacking identity in what has been a pretty bumpy ride on that side of the ball so far.
But one of the few bright spots — and really one of the biggest bright spots in all of college football — has been freshman sensation wide receiver Ryan Williams.
Williams, at just 17 years old, has burst onto the scene this year and quickly established himself as the best weapon on the team. His dominance thus far is pretty unprecedented for a freshman, let alone a freshman who skipped his senior year of high school entirely to enroll early.
Through the Tide’s seven games, Williams has caught 31 passes for 649 yards and seven touchdowns with his signature moment coming in a play against Georgia that no matter how the season goes, will live in Alabama lore forever:
RYAN WILLIAMS IS 17 YEARS OLD
GAME OF THE YEAR
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) September 29, 2024
This week ahead of the Missouri homecoming matchup, Williams joined his head coach Kalen DeBoer on the ‘Hey Coach’ show and talked about what a blessing the early stardom has been:
"It's a blessing and honor to be in this position.
– @Ryanwms1 #RollTide | @AlabamaFTBL | @Alfa_Insurance pic.twitter.com/MQbyIKDpX6
— Crimson Tide Sports Network (@UA_CTSN) October 25, 2024
“There’s a lot of people that come up to me here and there and ask for a picture and I kind of enjoy that,” Williams said when asked about his college experience thus far as a student going to class. “People be like ‘do you get tired of it?’ No, it’s a blessing and honor to be in this position and like Coach DeBoer always says, with the talent that we have it’s a lot of responsibility and stuff that comes with it.”
Williams is clearly an extremely impressive young man not just on the field, but off the field as well.
Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP and hear him every weekday morning from 6 to 9 a.m. on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5, available free online.
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