Alabama’s 17-year-old wide receiver Ryan Williams is the talk of college football following a great performance against Georgia. The true freshman, who reclassified from 2025 to the 2024 recruiting cycle, led No. 4 Alabama to a thrilling 41-34 victory over No. 2 Georgia with a six-yard, 177-yard, one-touchdown performance, his one touchdown being a ridiculous, leaping, pirouetting score that gave Alabama the lead again with 2:30 remaining.
Williams has quickly become a household figure, but he is no stranger to recruiters. Williams, a five-star recruiting prospect, racked up over 4,600 all-purpose yards and 65 touchdowns in his final two seasons at Saraland High School in Alabama, and even after reclassifying from 2025, he ranked as the No. 8 prospect and No. 3 receiver in the 2024 class, trailing only Jeremiah Smith and Cam Coleman at the position in what can reasonably be called the best same-cycle receiver class in the modern era.
What Williams did Saturday night demonstrated why DeBoer rapidly prioritized acquiring the Saraland five-star receiver after arriving in Tuscaloosa and taking over the Alabama team. Williams, the only two-time Mr. Football winner in Alabama high school football history, was formerly committed to Alabama but dropped out after Saban’s surprising January retirement. Auburn went all in on Williams, hoping to round out a star-studded receiving class that included five-star Cam Coleman and four-star Perry Thompson. Ryan Sr., Williams’ father, also played football at Auburn. Texas, Louisiana State University, and Texas A&M were also extensively pursued.
Here’s how Williams flirted with each of those colleges during the time between his Alabama decommitment and recommitment, and how the Tide were able to seal the deal.
AUBURN: Tigers’ failed efforts with legendary recruit are difficult to overcome
“The recruitment got off to a rocky start, with Bryan Harsin and his staff being slow to give a legacy prospect whose father played defensive back at Auburn in the late 2000s. When Williams arrived for a visit, a game in which Penn State defeated Auburn, he said no coach interacted with him, and he was not offered until a few days later. A few weeks later, he committed to Alabama.
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