by TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Heisman Trophy winner and Alabama legend Mark Ingram, ecstatic and smiling from ear to ear, had his picture taken with him.
Even after a loss, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart sought him out to give him a big hug and tell him how good a player he is.
Ryan Williams is just 17 years old — he was born a month after Alabama hired Nick Saban in 2007 — and he’s the new king of Tuscaloosa after a performance with six catches, 177 yards and one touchdown powered No. 4 Alabama’s thrilling 41-34 victory over No. 2 Georgia at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Williams saved the day with a “you have to watch it multiple times to believe it” 75-yard touchdown play that allowed the Crimson Tide to fend off Georgia’s furious comeback efforts. Once up 28-0 in the first half, Alabama watched as Georgia slowly clawed its way back into the game before a stunning Carson Beck-to-Dillon Bell 67-yard touchdown pass gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the evening, 34-33. , with only 2:31 left in the game.
Although panic quickly set in among the 100,077 fans who couldn’t believe what just happened, Williams wasn’t nervous. He knew this was his chance to shine, the reason he came to Alabama to play for first-year head coach Kalen DeBoer.
“If no one else is going to make a play, we have to make a play,” Williams thought, obviously referring to his jersey number.
Williams did more than just play; he made the game of the young 2024 college football season. It was like watching a ballet dancer as he adjusted in mid-air to catch the football, performed a slow motion spin, and then danced down the sideline past Georgia defenders for the touchdown. Williams credits teammates Germie Bernard and Jaylen Mbakwe for the fancy footwork – “My older guys do it every day in practice, so I have to pick something up” – but even he couldn’t find the words to explain how he set up the improbable touchdown to secure victory.
“I can’t really tell you how it happened,” he said. “I had the ball and the end zone looked pretty close and I had to get there.”
AL.com ranked Williams’ touchdown as the third-best play in Alabama’s storied history.
Williams shouldn’t be that good or that fast. He should still be in high school and not be burning up one of the best defenses in the country. Williams may only be 17 years old, but he is already one of the top receivers in college football.
Even worse for opponents, this is just the tip of the iceberg for Williams, who skipped his senior year of high school and will only get better with more experience. He is a clear exception to the trend suggesting that reclassification is not in the best interests of most players.
“After interviewing several contacts at the Power Four level, the general consensus is that eliminating a 12, 13 or even 14-game senior season could hinder player development because those in-game reps are far more valuable than the those a player would receive during training on a scout team,” Andrew Ivins, the 247Sports Director of Scouting, wrote this week about Williams’ reclassification.
Williams accounted for more than 4,600 yards and 65 touchdowns in his final two seasons at Saraland High School in Alabama, and even after reclassifying, he ranked eighth and the third-ranked receiver in the class of 2024, trailing only Jeremiah. Smith and Cam Coleman at the position in what could reasonably be called the best same-cycle receiver class in the modern era.
“Even when I was younger, I was always playing, so it was never a question of age,” Williams said in August. “I try not to use age as an excuse because if I had been abused there, I still wouldn’t have wanted it to be an excuse.”
What Williams did Saturday night reinforced why DeBoer quickly prioritized landing the Saraland five-star receiver after landing in Tuscaloosa and taking over the Alabama program. Williams, the only two-time Mr. Football winner in Alabama high school football history, was once committed to Alabama but decommitted after Saban’s surprise retirement in January. Auburn went all in and tried to get Williams to complete a star-studded receiver class that also included five-star Cam Coleman and four-star Perry Thompson. Williams’ father, Ryan Sr., even played football at Auburn. Texas was also heavily pursued.
DeBoer won him over with his authentic approach and exciting offensive philosophies. Williams already resembles DeBoer’s version of Julio Jones, the former five-star Mobile-area receiver who helped turn Nick Saban’s Alabama program into a dynasty. When your best player is also your hardest worker like Julio, that defines the entire culture. Julio earned the respect of his older teammates from the moment he arrived on campus because of his relentless work ethic, a trait the young Williams shares in spades.
“He’s a special player and what’s most impressive is the way he handles success,” DeBoer said. “He’ll be back at work and be the same guy on Tuesday, and the same guy tomorrow when we show up and do our workouts.”
Williams said in August that his Hall of Fame comparison was DeVonta Smith, and you can’t blame him for not remembering Jones’ time at Alabama given his age. Williams says his first real college football memories start in the 2012 season, with Johnny Manziel centering on beautiful Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
Jalen Milroe deservedly rose the Heisman Trophy betting odds as the new favorite to win the award after a four-touchdown, 491-total-yards performance against the Bulldogs. According to major college football analyst Cole Cubelic, he is the first player in the history of Associated Press polls to have 300 yards passing, 100 yards rushing and two rushing touchdowns against a top 5 opponent.
A performance like that against a team like Georgia all but guarantees Milroe will be in New York for the Heisman ceremony, barring a disastrous second half of the season. But as incredible as Milroe was, the Alabama offense wouldn’t be nearly as dynamic or explosive without Williams. He’s already so crucial to the Tide’s offense and the ones that come with it seasonal dreams for 2024 in broad terms.
Everyone in the building knew Alabama would try to get Williams the ball on that final drive, and yet Georgia still couldn’t stop it. One play after Georgia looked like it might make a comeback for good, Williams defiantly quashed those hopes. “I just have so much confidence in him,” Milroe said.
Clearly, DeBoer and offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan feel the same way. The 17-year-old destroyed a veteran Georgia high school with a redshirt senior, two juniors and a redshirt sophomore. Williams looked like the best player on a field where several guys will be high on the list, and what the world saw Saturday is just a taste of what’s to come in Tuscaloosa.
“It just feels like a dream and I’m just going to keep going,” Williams said. “I love this dream.”
