This time last year, there were legitimate questions about who Alabama’s No. 1 wide receiver would be and if Jalen Milroe would have enough viable pass-catching options to run Kalen DeBoer’s offense effectively. A year later, Ryan Williams is a 2025 Walter Camp Preseason All-American heading into his sophomore season at just 18 years old.
Williams had an unforgettable freshman season, hauling in 48 passes for 865 yards and eight touchdowns, and much of that yardage came in crucial moments like the fourth quarter against Georgia at Bryant-Denny Stadium. He wowed the country with his remarkable body control, elusiveness, and breakaway speed, and is as much a threat at the catch-point on a 50/50 ball as he is with the ball in his hands on a screen.
There’s no question that if he stays healthy, Williams will be in the mix for the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s best pass catcher at the end of next season. So, while the season is fast approaching, it’s a great time to look at who will be Williams’ primary competition for the award and the company he keeps as one of the most dynamic playmakers in college football.
The favorite
There’s only one reason that Williams can’t be considered the favorite to win the Biletnikoff heading into the year, and his name is Jeremiah Smith. Ohio State’s true freshman sensation easily bested Williams’s production last year, finishing with 76 catches for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns. At 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, Smith already has an NFL-ready frame, which he combines with pro-caliber route-running to become an unstoppable force.
Ohio State already counted on Smith in the biggest moments of the season last year, icing the national championship with a 56-yard deep ball from quarterback Will Howard, and that trust will only grow as Ryan Day’s team transitions to former Alabama commit Julian Sayin. The only knocks against Smith’s Biletnikoff case are the change at quarterback, which Williams is also undergoing in Tuscaloosa, and the fact that his counterpart, Carnell Tate, is almost as good, and could siphon off just enough targets to keep Smith’s elite production from ascending to an outrageous level.
There is no player in college football quite on Smith’s level, but Williams is the closest thing, both sophomores elevated above the rest of the wide receivers in the country. It's probably a two-man race for the Biletnikoff Award -- but what if it isn't?
The contenders
He didn’t get to play in the College Football Playoff loss to Texas, but the resurgence that brought Arizona State to that point wasn’t just led by Cam Skattebo and Sam Leavitt; it was a three-headed monster with Jordan Tyson.
The sophomore Colorado transfer was far and away the Sun Devils’ most productive receiver. His 75 catches were 30 more than Skattebo hauled in and 53 more than the next wide receiver on the roster. He’s a reliable deep threat and thrives over the intermediate middle of the field, where Leavitt loves to throw the ball. Tyson finished 11th in the country in yards per route run last season and could be even better with another season in Kenny Dillingham’s system. Tyson is the only player on this list who will have the same quarterback as last season.
Eric Singleton Jr. was one of the most electrifying playmakers in the country last season, catching 56 passes for 754 yards and three touchdowns with 21 carries for another 131 yards, but was stuck in a Georgia Tech offense with a run-first QB. Once he entered the transfer portal, he immediately became a hot commodity and found his way to Hugh Freeze and Auburn.
The Tigers have plenty of young wide receiver talent between former five-star Cam Coleman and Malcolm Simmons, who also impressed in his true freshman year. However, Singleton is likely to be the No. 1 target for transfer QB Jackson Arnold. There are a lot of moving pieces for this program, and it could fall flat, but if everything clicks for a highly-recruited quarterback on his second team and Singleton finally gets to play in a prolific passing offense, the ceiling is incredibly high.
Curt Cignetti brought plenty of talent with him from James Madison to Bloomington, but Sarratt may have been most important to the Hoosiers last season. A refined route-runner who leverages his size and the threat of his deep speed to separate with his impressive deceleration at the top of digs and comebacks.
Sarratt finished tied for 10th in the country with 12 catches on targets over 20 yards downfield and was the only player in the top 10 who had fewer than 20 such targets (19). He’s a highly efficient deep threat, but has the strength and physicality to win in contest catch scenarios. He’s not quite the athlete that Williams and Smith are, but the rising senior might be the most polished pass-catcher in the country.