It goes much deeper than football and friendship for two freshmen at the University of Alabama.
Ryan Williams and Jaylen Mbakwe competed against each other in high school, but the two value each other as pure brothers.
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When Williams recommitted and signed in the Crimson Tide’s 2024 recruiting class, a podcast was born.
The concept was in order, but Nick Saban’s blessing was the lone thing needed. Saban gave the podcast his blessing in his retirement in January, allowing Williams and Mbakwe to start brainstorming ideas. New Wave, the name of the podcast, was made possible by the ‘Yea Alabama’ NIL collective. Williams and Mbakwe have an opportunity to express themselves as newcomers to the program and provide opportunities for teammates and coaches to express themselves too.
Williams shared on Friday to the media how thankful he was for Saban’s encouragement.
“Coach Saban gave us ‘that’s a good idea,'” Williams said. “He told us there was going to be a center and that was last year during our recruitment process. We were going to do it in a dorm and everyone kept supporting us and Alabama has done a great job of allowing us to express ourselves and share it on our platform.”
He knew the game was changing, but he wanted to adapt with it.
Saban did not allow freshmen to speak to the media in his 17-year tenure, unless it was a postseason game. Now, he’s given that blessing to allow young players to express themselves on podcasts and to the media in his departure from coaching. It is amazing to see how the disciplinarian had the foresight to encourage Williams and Mbakwe to take the podcast game over with New Wave.
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Stephen M. Smith is the senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
