Ryan Williams spoils a golden opportunity to right a wrong after continuing his sophomore slump against Eastern Illinois
It’s time to have a conversation about Ryan Williams in 2025.
Saturday’s win for the Alabama Crimson Tide was supposed to be a walk in the park. Judging the final score, you can tell that was the case, but there were still a lot of teaching moments for Alabama’s coaching staff.
QB Ty Simpson didn’t have a good day by any means, throwing two interceptions and taking far too many hits. Conor Talty continued his struggles with yet another missed field goal, and there was bad execution throughout.
Still, Ryan Williams continued to take the spotlight, and for all the wrong reasons.
Ryan Williams’ drops continue vs. Eastern Illinois
Williams finished his day against the Panthers with just one reception for 25 yards, but it was the dropped pass in the end zone that everyone is talking about. With just one regular-season game remaining, Williams has 267 fewer yards than he did last year, and his touchdown receptions have been cut in half, from eight to four.
The only thing that has gone up is his drops, and Williams knows it.
“Really just continuing to stay on the JUGS machine,” Williams said earlier this season via AL.com. “Continue to do the extra stuff, catching rugby balls, tennis balls, just focusing on the ball and not the next move. Like I said, if I want to be the receiver I want to be, I have to catch the ball before I can do all the extra stuff.
“Every ball that goes in the air, of course, I’m going to try to make that play for my quarterback, for my teammates. So really just focusing on being in the moment and really just trying to focus on the ball instead of what my next move is.”
It’s safe to say that Williams has had a sophomore slump. The decrease in production and uptick in drops prove that. Individually, that’s not a big deal. Williams still has his junior year before he can declare for the NFL Draft.
But for a team that still has national championship aspirations despite the committee’s rankings, the drops, and more so, the continuation of the drops, are concerning, especially with a must-win in the Iron Bowl next week.
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