Alabama star reestablishes himself as reliable target in 38-14 victory over Wisconsin

In his first game back from injury, Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams returned to the high-flying version of himself fans saw in 2024.

Williams finished with five receptions for 165 yards and two touchdowns, nearly eclipsing his single-game reception yardage career-high of 177 yards. It was his first time racking up more than 100 receiving yards since the 2024 matchup with Georgia.

After the game, Kalen DeBoer gave a glowing review of how Williams played in his first game back from injury and evaluated the receiver’s connection with quarterback Ty Simpson.

“He’s just hungry to get back out there and do what he does,” DeBoer said. “He missed last week and wanted to be better than what he was in Week 1. So, he went back to work. It was good to see him and Ty connect. Some easy throws that I think get a guy going, both Ryan and Ty, but then also some of those deep sideline throws. Those aren’t the easier. They worked extremely hard on them. We were very intentional on making sure the timing of those routes were good all week long in practice, and they went on and executed. So, it was good to see him do his thing because he’s obviously crazy explosive, especially once he has the ball in his hands.”

Against Florida State, Williams was sidelined in the fourth quarter after he suffered a concussion, but he had only caught five of his eleven targets and dropped three passes prior to the injury.

Williams received an abundance of backlash from the media, fans and former players after his showing against the Seminoles. The narrative was that the sophomore wide receiver was no longer a top target on his team. Speculation rose about his role possibly being limited after a great showing from freshman Lotzeir Brooks versus ULM, but after the way Williams played on Saturday, he has reestablished himself as a top wide receiver in college football and has added further security to his spot in the offense.

According to Williams, the criticism had no effect on his ability to perform, saying he played like he did against Wisconsin for his teammates.

“Not at all,” Williams said. “Just playing for the guys because at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what anyone else says about us. We’re just focusing on playing for each other and playing at a high level because as long as we play for each other, you see what happens.”

Last week versus ULM, Williams was not cleared to play, meaning he got an opportunity to view the game from a different angle which he believes helped him learn.

“I learned a lot,” Williams said. “Just being able to observe the defense and not be in the heat of the moment and being able to watch the film before my guys come off the field and tell them like ‘Hey, make sure you look out for this.’ Just being able to be that extra soft voice and not having coach getting on you, you feel me, all day long.”

Up next for Alabama is a bye week followed by an away game against Georgia. Williams had an explosive night against the Bulldogs last season, and with receivers like Germie Bernard, Isaiah Horton and Lotzeir Brooks perfecting their crafts and making plays, the Alabama offense is looking ready for a night game in Athens.