Former ACC wide receiver brings “grass-eating speed” to Alabama’s spring practice

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When someone sees something they like, there is always the thought of will they see it again?

For Alabama football fans, they loved the “Rydeouts” at the wide receiver position.

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The Crimson Tide had Calvin Ridley, Jerry Jeudy, DeVonta Smith, and Henry Ruggs III on one roster in 2017, and the explosiveness continued with having names such as Jaylen Waddle, John Metchie, and Jameson Williams join the crew.

It was exciting to hold your breath and see which player would take a short route for a long touchdown at any moment.

Alabama returns Ryan Coleman-Williams – now 19 years old – as the veteran in the room, but can this group recreate the Rydeout feeling? Lotzier Brooks and Rico Scott should help with it, but a former standout from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) at North Carolina State has shown up in spring ball. Noah Rogers has caught Alabama’s attention as someone to help the receiver room. He worked alongside a talented playmaker in KC Concepcion for the Wolfpack in 2024 – prior to Concepcion transferring to Texas A&M – but now Rogers has the joy of teammate up with Coleman-Williams at Alabama.

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The 6-foot-2, 201-pounder wears No. 5, in taking over for the departed Germie Bernard, yet it does not take him five gears to achieve optimal speed. Rogers totaled 68 catches for 919 yards and three touchdowns at N.C. State.

He was the third receiver in “routes on air” drills with quarterbacks in Thursday’s practice.

Coleman-Williams sees Rogers as another speedster on the team.

“He’s eating up a lot of grass,” Coleman-Williams said about Rogers.  “He is just explosive and it is good to have threats on all sides of the field.”

Rogers’ skill set complements his teammates, so it will be fun to see how he grows.

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Stephen M. Smith is a team writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine.  You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.