Slow-motion shot of Ryan Williams embarrassing Wisconsin’s defense is poetry

Alabama got back on track in Week 2 with a 73-0 win over Louisiana Monroe, then Ty Simpson and the Crimson Tide offense got their biggest weapon back in Week 3. Ryan Williams made his return from injury on Saturday, after exiting the Crimson Tide’s Week 1 loss to Florida State with a concussion that sidelined him for Week 2, and he didn’t miss a beat. 

Behind five catches for 165 yards and two touchdowns from Williams, Alabama cruised to a 38-14 victory at Bryant-Denny Stadium to get to 2-1 on the year heading into a bye week before opening SEC play in Athens, Georgia, on September 27. 

For the most part, Williams cleaned up the drops that plagued the first game of his sophomore season, and the 18-year-old superstar wide receiver was a dynamic playmaker with the ball in his hands. Whether it's racking up yards after the catch or making a contested grab on a 50/50 ball, Williams’ most impressive ability is his body control. In Week 3, he used that skill to embarrass the entire Wisconsin defense, and the slow-motion shot of his jump cut by the sideline that set up his second touchdown of the game is poetry in motion. 

Ryan Williams back to his dominant self in Week 3 return from injury

As a 17-year-old true freshman, Williams led the Tide with 865 receiving yards and eight touchdowns, which remarkably, came on just 48 catches. He was one part of a dynamic pass-catching duo with Germie Bernard, who is building some Heisman hype early this year, and entered 2025 as one of the favorites to win the Biletnikoff Award as the best pass catcher in the country. 

Williams built his reputation last season, with similarly unbelievable acrobatic feats, including one in the most pressure-packed situation imaginable in the fourth quarter against Georgia. That catch-and-run may have been even more impressive than this week’s latest feat, and was certainly more consequential. 

Williams is a rare talent, perhaps most comparable to Lynn Swann of USC and the dynastic Pittsburgh Steelers. Swann’s background as a ballet dancer in his youth became the stuff of legend as he contorted his body in every imaginable way to make circus catches of his own in the 1970s. 

It’s still early to draw comparisons to NFL Hall of Famers, but that’s the type of start that Williams has gotten off to at Alabama, which could have him in rarified air in program history by season’s end.