Heading into a pivotal junior season at Alabama, Ryan Coleman-Williams has a new jersey number and a new name. He's also making a major change to his game-day attire.
Drops were a major issue for the star WR last season. He had the highest drop rate among qualified receivers in the FBS in 2025. That led to a lack of trust from QB Ty Simpson and the coaching staff.
But the rising junior is putting last season behind him, and there's plenty of reason for optimism in Coleman-Williams regaining his freshman form.
He's made a lot of changes. One of the major ones that you may have noticed from practice photos is that he hasn't been wearing gloves, instead going with the old-school, bare-handed approach. He confirmed on Tuesday that he was making that change on game day, too:
“I actually practiced with no gloves pretty much my whole life,” Coleman-Williams said. “So, I mean, since I’ve been a receiver, I’ve been practicing with no gloves.”
When asked if he planned to wear gloves during games this year, Coleman-Williams responded with "nah."
When asked why he was making the change, he didn't give specifics.
“Nothing, just playing football,” Coleman-Williams said. “I mean, a glove or without a glove, it doesn’t really matter. You’re just playing football.”
Ryan Coleman-Williams is ditching his gloves for the 2026 season
One thing is clear: Coleman-Williams has taken a serious approach to the offseason and is putting last season's struggles behind him. He is focused on a major bounce-back, and there's optimism within the program that the former 5-star recruit is going to re-emerge as one of the top playmakers in college football in 2026.
Alabama certainly needs him to. He's a game-changer with the ball in his hands, and his losing the faith of the coaching staff last year because he couldn't hang on to the football was a major detriment to the Crimson Tide's offense.
He's done all the right things this offseason. His mentality is what it needs to be, and he put in hours and hours and hours of work to correct the problem.
But things are different when the lights are bright. The proof of his turnaround won't be over one single Saturday. It'll be over the course of the entire season by being consistent.
That consistency is the one ingredient missing from his recipe to be one of the best receivers in the country and a sure-fire first-round pick in the NFL Draft next April.
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