The Alabama football program is hoping for a bounce back season after a 2024 campaign in which they missed the playoffs altogether despite the new 12-team format. One of the bright spots for Alabama under newly minted head coach Kalen DeBoer was the play of freshman wide receiver Ryan Williams, who quickly established himself as one of the best players in the nation at the age of 17.
Still, Williams and the Crimson Tide know that the pressure is on for the team to respond after a rare down year.
“It was basically the elephant in the room,” Williams said about the pressure, per Chris Low of ESPN.
“It just wasn't good enough,” Williams said. “We didn't live up to the Alabama standard this past season, and it needed to be addressed. We all knew it, but it's never a bad thing to be reminded. Literally, my whole life, the only thing I remember is Alabama winning championships and winning at least 10 games every year. I was a part of the team that didn't. So, what are you going to do about it?”
In fairness, Williams himself could hardly be faulted for why Alabama football didn't live up to expectations this past year. Williams made several unbelievable plays throughout the year, including torching the Georgia Bulldogs in the Tide's biggest win of the season in late September.
Can the Tide bounce back?
The recent Alabama graduating class was the first in well over a decade that spent their four years in Tuscaloosa without seeing a national championship trophy come through.
Kalen DeBoer is trying to change that this upcoming year.
“I want it for our players. That's where it starts for me,” DeBoer said. “I've always felt that a lot of why I do what I do and the effort that you put in is because you don't want to let these guys down, and that's what you want your whole team to think. You want your staff to think that way, but that's truly how I operate.
Alabama is slated to kick off its season on August 30 against Florida State on the road.
