ATHENS, Ga. — Ryan Williams had one piece of advice as Alabama football offensive lineman Kadyn Proctor mentally transformed into a Crimson Tide wide receiver.
As the second quarter of Alabama's 24-21 road win against Georgia neared its end, Williams pulled Proctor aside. "No moment's too big for you," the sophomore receiver said, passing the baton of the offense to the 6-foot-7, 369-pound behemoth of a tackle.
Ty Simpson 's message to Proctor was a simple one.
"I told him in the huddle, 'You ready big guy?'" Simpson said.
Proctor lined up wide behind Alabama running back Jam Miller. Wide receiver Germie Bernard motioned for extra help. The ball was snapped. Ty Simpson tossed the ball to Proctor.
That's when Proctor took center stage, barreling through multiple Georgia defenders, barreling through Miller, pushing himself downhill and through each man that separated him from the pylon.
Proctor ended just short, landing out of bounds at the Georgia 2-yard line and setting up a goal-line Simpson score, Alabama 's only touchdown rush of the night.
With the ball in his hands, Proctor was calm. He was confident. He needed no extra message or motivation from the coaching staff.
"It's just what's expected of me, to go out there and do my job," Proctor said.
Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer trusted Proctor.
That screen pass was something Alabama installed during fall camp. It was going well, DeBoer said, until it didn't. It was enough to shelve the play for weeks.
But with an off week leading into Georgia, DeBoer brought the Proctor play back on the practice field.
"He made a catch earlier in the week that gave us a lot of confidence," DeBoer said. "In the middle of practice, sweaty hands, not a great throw, pulled it right off the ground."
Sure, it was Proctor's first time touching a football since his junior year of high school, He joked that the play call is "knocking the dust off" of Proctor as an offensive juggernaut.
But Proctor had a job to do. He was just doing as he practiced. And he aimed to do it to the best of his ability.
Proctor aimed for a touchdown.
While Proctor didn't score, DeBoer saw enough.
"Who wants to tackle that guy?" DeBoer said with a grin.
Alabama will take on Vanderbilt at 3:30 p.m. CT Oct. 4 at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Inside Kadyn Proctor play as an Alabama football wide receiver
