Ryan Williams never shied away from the comparisons to the former all-time great Alabama wide receivers who came before him. He embraced the challenge.
The first thing Williams did when he arrived at Alabama was ask to be put on the same training program as former Tide Heisman Trophy winning WR DeVonta Smith.
Smith is a player who Williams has been compared to for a while due to their slender builds. Smith's frame was always used as the reason why he wouldn't be able to do this or that. Instead, Smith caught the game-winning touchdown pass in the Natty as a freshman, won the Heisman and another Natty as a Senior, and became a Super Bowl champion a little over three months ago with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Williams is certainly confident he can achieve the same things Smith did. After just two games at Alabama, Williams was asked to name his top five WRs in Crimson Tide history. He listed Smith as No. 1, adding "but don't think I ain't coming for you, my boy."
Heading into his second season at the Capstone, Williams continues to strive to be like Smith. He's just cut out the middleman.
A social media post showed that Williams - along with new Alabama WR and Miami transfer Isaiah Horton, were in Tampa working out with Smith and strength coach Yo Murphy.
Ryan Williams is ready to explode in a more WR-friendly offense
Kalen DeBoer was able to reel Williams back into the 2024 recruiting class in part because of the system he runs. It's QB and WR friendly. It's a system that prioritizes vertical movement of the football.
Unfortunately, we didn't see the full scope of how the offense was supposed to look last season with Jalen Milroe at QB.
Williams still had a productive freshman season at just 17 years old, but he tapered off after a torrid start. He finished with 865 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.
Milroe's struggles down the stretch, coupled with Alabama never finding a true No. 3 option at WR last season, made life difficult for the freshman phenom.
That should no longer be an issue.
Whoever wins the starting QB job should be able to effectively operate the offense DeBoer and OC Ryan Grubb want to run. That will be a major qualifier in who takes the first snaps in Tallahassee in late August.
Another thing working in favor of Williams is that Alabama has a lot more quality depth at WR this season. His running mate Germie Bernard is back, and Alabama added Horton in the Transfer Portal, who looks like a major upgrade as the Tide's No. 3 receiver.
There's also a healthy Jalen Hale to factor in, and freshman Lotzeir Brooks looks like a star in the making. Double Williams this season at your own peril. Alabama didn't have the guys to make defenses pay a year ago.
They do now.