Alabama football nabbed Ryan Williams with the vision he'd emerge as its next explosive wide receiver. Especially after producing Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith.
Now Williams is working out with the Crimson Tide legend. Which the current ‘Bama WR opened up about with Rece Davis of ESPN.
“(It was) just learning from a guy that’s really defied a lot of odds. Like, he’s an amazing football player, but he’s an even better person,” Williams shared on the College GameDay podcast.
Williams adjusted to Kalen DeBoer in his first season as ‘Bama head coach. Alabama endured a rather rough 9-4 season that looked nothing like the Nick Saban years. DeBoer acknowledged how salty he was about missing the College Football Playoffs.
The WR gained new knowledge from the immensely successful Alabama WR and 2024 Super Bowl champion.
“So just for him to accept me and us being able to bounce ideas off each other and really get after it, those couple of days were super fun and I learned a lot. And I’ve been applying it (ever) since. … And I’m just super excited for this season,” Williams told Davis.
What Ryan Williams learned from Alabama legend DeVonta Smith
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The sophomore is on a revenge tour this fall. Williams fired off a warning to Vanderbilt already. Especially after Vandy stunned the Tide in '24.
But he dissected nuggets during his time with the Philadelphia Eagles star Smith. Including studying how Smith goes about his work ethic and game preparation.
“I’d just say, everything that he does is very deliberate,” Williams said of Smith. “Like you can see his body movements, because if you just look at him, he’s not the biggest guy. So just the way he’s able to control his body is truly remarkable. And I learned a lot about the little details about how I can do that for myself, and just taking my game to the next level.”
Williams included how Smith is skilled at sinking his hips and disorient a defensive back covering him.
The former five-star signing is fresh off delivering a team-high 865 yards and eight touchdowns. He's likely to catch passes from Ty Simpson this fall. Williams also must adjust to life without Jalen Milroe, who's off to the NFL.