Kalen DeBoer calms down worried Alabama fans over star WR Ryan Williams

One word can describe Alabama sophomore WR Ryan Williams so far this season: inconsistent. In three games, he's bookended with two disappointing performances surrounding one spectacular outing against Wisconsin.

Drops have been the biggest issue. Williams has dropped five passes this season and has dropped sure touchdowns in two consecutive games. None was more jarring than the opening drive against Georgia, where Williams breaks free up the seam. Ty Simpson dropped it in the bucket on a deep ball, but Williams couldn't corral what would have been a touchdown:

Alabama fans are - justifiably - worried about his drops. Some are worried about silly things off the field - like stuffed animals and nail polish - but those have nothing to do with his on-field performance. But it's fair to wonder if the dropped passes will continue to plague him moving forward, and if it's getting in his head.

Perhaps more worrisome than that were a couple of instances of poor block attempts on that first drive following the drop. Simpson rebounded and led Alabama to a touchdown anyway, but Williams whiffed on a couple of block opportunities and saw himself on the bench for longer than normal as a result.

Germie Bernard has already emerged as the trusted WR1 for Simpson and the coaching staff. Against Georgia, it was clear that Isaiah Horton had more trust from the offensive staff, too. And freshman Lotzeir Brooks continues to emerge.

Williams is still a massive part of the offense. But he's got to bring more consistency to every part of the game in order to have the season he's capable of. To his credit, Kalen DeBoer is not worried about his star WR.

Kalen DeBoer says Ryan Williams is working hard despite inconsistent play

To Williams' credit, he didn't let the drop or lackluster effort early in the game affect him the rest of the way. He stepped up and made some crucial catches, withstanding some big hits from Georgia defenders, to help the Crimson Tide move the chains in crucial situations.

"What I know I see on the football field and practice every single day is a guy that is working hard at it," Kalen DeBoer said about Williams. "We know how skilled he is, how big of a threat he is, any time when he’s on the field. I thought he responded well. Had some nice catches and third down conversions, had a ball late in the half there that was an explosive that helped us cross midfield, put points on the board.

"So I thought his response was really good. He stayed focused, and I think really what he’s locked in on is the team. He’s not going to be perfect, just like any other guy. We expect a lot out of him, and we’ve built that up for him, and he certainly wants that. But you just got to keep taking steps, keep getting better, and he will. 
He just, keep working through it, but his desire to go out there and be a team player, block, I mean, the want-to factor’s there. You’ve just got to keep working on the fundamental things.”

Williams certainly isn't the first player to go through a sophomore slump. The good news is that Alabama actually has the WR room to pick him up this season. That wasn't the case a year ago. Bernard, Horton, and Brooks have all played at an extremely high level. Rico Scott is more than capable off the bench, particularly as a blocker.

And Simpson has developed a rapport throwing to everyone. He spreads the ball around and hits the open guy, never locking on to his primary read. That has helped Alabama's offense continue to thrive and move the football despite some early-season struggles from Williams.

But Williams is still more than capable of making game-changing plays. We saw it against Wisconsin twice in Week 3. We will see it again, sooner rather than later.