Alabama coach pushes back on false narrative created by former Crimson Tide quarterback
Late in the fourth quarter of the Alabama Crimson Tide's 24-17 loss to the Tennessee Vols, Bama true freshman wide receiver Ryan Williams was criticized by ESPN announcer Greg McElroy for not making a block on a fourth-and-22 play. During the broadcast of the game, McElroy, who was a quarterback at Alabama from 2007 to […]
Late in the fourth quarter of the Alabama Crimson Tide's 24-17 loss to the Tennessee Vols, Bama true freshman wide receiver Ryan Williams was criticized by ESPN announcer Greg McElroy for not making a block on a fourth-and-22 play.
During the broadcast of the game, McElroy, who was a quarterback at Alabama from 2007 to 2010, suggested that Williams made a "critical error" by not blocking a Tennessee defender.
"This is just a critical error by the freshman Ryan Williams," said McElroy during the broadcast. "He's got to go block. And if he blocks, and gets a piece of that guy, Justice Haynes can bust to the outside and potentially pick it up. It's like Ryan Williams is going to sleep, thinking he might throw it to him, and he just completely whiffs on the block — which allows Tennessee to rally up and make the play. Just a critical mistake by the young freshman."
On Wednesday, Alabama wide receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard told reporters that it's "absolutely incorrect" that Williams "whiffed" on a block on that play.
"Ryan Williams didn't whiff on a block on that play," said Shephard. "That is absolutely incorrect. He did not whiff on a block on that play. That should be not be the narrative any longer. That did not happen on that play."
Shephard didn't say anything else about Williams' responsibilities on that play, or anything about the play call in general, so it's hard to know exactly what happened in that situation.
It looked like maybe Williams was running a route down the sideline, perhaps for a 50/50 ball (much like his spectacular catch against Georgia). And then when the ball was checked down, he wasn't in position to make a block that could've led to a first down. At the same time, it looked like quarterback Jalen Milroe never had any intentions of dropping back and trying to find Williams down the sideline — though some of that could've been because Tennessee got immediate pressure on Milroe.
Either way, it seems clear that Shephard wasn't a fan of the suggestion from McElroy that Williams "whiffed" on the block. But because Shephard didn't elaborate further, we have no idea what Alabama's plan on that play actually was.
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