Current:Home > ScamsAlabama football's freshman receiver Ryan Williams is only 17, but was old enough to take down Georgia -RiseUp Capital Academy
Alabama football's freshman receiver Ryan Williams is only 17, but was old enough to take down Georgia
View
Date:2025-04-14 19:09:55
All Alabama football quarterback Jalen Milroe wanted to do was give Ryan Williams a chance.
Trailing by a point with fewer than three minutes to go, Milroe saw the one-on-one matchup he wanted with Williams, who had already exploited the Georgia secondary with a bobbled, circus catch for 54 yards in the third quarter. Milroe looked the safety off, threw up a pass with Williams to the field side and gave him a chance to make the play of his young life.
Williams, just 17, was not feeling the pressure, though. He had done his homework. He knew the equation.
“He know four plus two equal six,” Williams said. “I know four plus two equal six.”
Milroe wears jersey No. 4. Williams wears No. 2. They worked out the math.
Williams jumped up past Georgia defensive back Julian Humphrey, snagged the reception, cut back behind diving defensive back in KJ Bolden and started to run, going 75 yards for a score to lift Alabama to a 41-34 lead it would not lose against the No. 1 Bulldogs.
“I knew anybody, all the way, across the board, anybody could have made that play,” Williams said. “So I was just running my route to win. And I knew my guys were too.”
Saturday was Williams’ coming out party in the SEC. He finished with six catches on seven targets for 177 yards and a 75-yard touchdown reception from Milroe. But it was nothing new for Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer.
Williams, he said, is “well ahead of (his) time,” as one of two freshmen who sealed Alabama’s win, along with defensive back Zabien Brown, who had the game-winning interception.
HIGHS AND LOWS: Alabama-Georgia classic leads Week 5 winners and losers
TUSCALOOSA PARTY: Jalen Milroe leads way as Alabama humbles Georgia
“They’ve played enough snaps now where there’s a belief that not only they have in themselves, but we all do,” DeBoer said. “They’re playmakers, they battle, they grind.”
But now DeBoer sees a receiver in Williams who is battle-tested. Instead of taking advantage of lax coverage against Western Kentucky, South Florida and Wisconsin, Williams could be the playmaker “we saw during fall camp,” DeBoer said.
It was those moments Williams looked back upon, the reason why he felt no pressure when Milroe threw his way in the biggest moment of his budding collegiate career.
“I just felt confidence the entire time,” Williams said. “He gave me the opportunity, and I just made the play.”
Confidence doesn’t change Williams’ personality, DeBoer said.
“He’s going to be back to work,” DeBoer said. “He’s going to be the same guy on Tuesday, same guy tomorrow when we show up and do our workouts. That’s what I think our team really sees in him.”
It’s what Milroe sees in Williams, the receiver he’s connected with on half of his touchdown passes in 2024. For Milroe, Williams has not only been a receiver he wants to give a chance to shine, but one who deserves it.
“When you have Ryan to the field,” Milroe said, “that’s a one-on-one advantage on our end.”
veryGood! (16)
Related
- $73.5M beach replenishment project starts in January at Jersey Shore
- Norman Lear, legendary TV producer, dies at age 101
- Actors vote to approve deal that ended strike, bringing relief to union leaders and Hollywood
- Police: Suspect dead amid reports of multiple victims in shooting at University of Nevada, Las Vegas
- Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
- US files war crime charges against Russians accused of torturing an American in the Ukraine invasion
- Escaped kangaroo punches officer in the face before being captured in Canada
- Hanukkah message of light in darkness feels uniquely relevant to US Jews amid war, antisemitism
- Former longtime South Carolina congressman John Spratt dies at 82
- Taylor Swift is named Time Magazine’s person of the year
Ranking
- Appeals court scraps Nasdaq boardroom diversity rules in latest DEI setback
- The Best Gifts for Pets and Their Owners That Deserve A Round Of A-Paws
- Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak to receive Serbian passport, president says
- Daisy Jones’ Camila Morrone Reveals How Pregnant BFF Suki Waterhouse Will Be as a Mom
- NFL Week 15 picks straight up and against spread: Bills, Lions put No. 1 seed hopes on line
- US Coast Guard service members don’t feel safe, new review says. Officials are promising changes
- Brock Lesnar's daughter breaks school record in shot put for Colorado State
- Cougar struck and killed near Minneapolis likely the one seen in home security video, expert says
Recommendation
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
Want to read Stephen King books? Here’s where to start.
What can we learn from the year's most popular econ terms?
Biden backs Native American athletes' quest to field lacrosse team at 2028 Olympics
Meta releases AI model to enhance Metaverse experience
These families trusted a funeral home. Their loved ones were left to rot, authorities say.
Sean Diddy Combs Denies Sickening and Awful Assault Allegations
Decades after Europe, turning blades send first commercial wind power onto US grid