Alabama Football: Let’s talk recruiting and Roydell Williams

Many Alabama football fans know little about Crimson Tide running back commit, Roydell Williams. A pair of 5-Star RB targets draw attention away from Williams and that is potentially a problem.

Alabama football, 2020 commit, running back Roydell Williams is overshadowed by the Tide’s pursuit of two 5-Star running backs. He is the only running back among the 18 Alabama football commits in the 2020 class. The Alabama Crimson Tide staff wants a second one.

The main RB targets being pursued are Zachary Evans and Kendall Milton. Based on the 247Sports Composite, Evans is the No. 1 rated RB and No. 6 player overall in the 2020 class. Milton is the No. 3 RB and No. 21 overall. Roydell Williams is rated as a 4-Star, the No. 11 RB and the No. 101 player overall.

Recruiting experts have had less exposure to Williams than most top players. He has not participated in many camps where his skills could have become better known. The Crimson Tide staff values him highly but has to fight off at least one serious threat to a Williams flip.

Roydell has said he is 110 percent committed to the Crimson Tide. But he is taking visits to other schools and plans on taking all five of his official visits. The currently most dangerous flip possibility is Auburn. Rodney Garner and Cadillac Williams at Auburn are stiff competition. Roydell has said he loves how Gus utilizes running backs in his offense.

After attending the recent Big Cat weekend, Roydell had this to say about Cadillac,

"We’ve talked on the phone and messages and stuff, but we spent a lot of time today. I was on his team, so we spent a lot of time together. I like Coach. He’s real cool, real laid back. I like his personality (and) the way he carries himself.We got a real comfortable relationship now. Everything’s going real smooth with me and Coach."

The Crimson Tide needs to hold on Roydell. A few insiders are beginning to suggest he might be so currently underrated he will rise in the national running back, lists. Among the 22 running backs and five all-purpose backs the Tide has offered in the 2020 class, Roydell is arguably in the top six or seven. And five of that group of 27 have committed to other schools; two to Oklahoma and one each to Clemson, Notre Dame and South Carolina.

Watch Roydell in the video below and pay close attention to his ease as a pass catcher. He looks a bit like a young Josh Jacobs.

There are some rumors Roydell has already beefed-up a bit, to the 212-215 pounds range. The same sources claim his weight room numbers are exceptional for a high school player. If his decent, though not great, speed is unhampered by added weight and strength, the comparisons to Josh Jacobs may be valid.

While the Crimson Tide chases other, elite running backs, Roydell will continue to weigh his options. In the story linked above, his answer to which school was recruiting him the hardest was the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Nick Saban, if he bothered to notice, might be content with Roydell not get a ton of recruiting review love. Fighting off Auburn for Roydell is distraction enough.