Ryan Williams spent Alabama football media day in campaign mode.
The Crimson Tide sophomore wide receiver heard what Germie Bernard said about Rico Scott , the redshirt freshman wide receiver who "ran 23 miles per hour, 23.5" this offseason. Williams initially gave Scott credit. But not too much.
"Oh he fast," Williams said. "He ain't faster than me, though."
David Ballou clarified the Williams vs. Scott speed talk. But the Alabama director of sports performance first set some ground rules.
First, the Crimson Tide only tracks times if a player sets it multiple times. Ballou confirmed Scott ran 23.5 mph, but only once. Scott hit 23.4 mph multiple times, Ballou said.
Now comparing Scott to Williams specifically, Ballou began the hypothetical race with explaining the difference between "competitive speed" and, simply, "speed."
"If I lined Rico, and I lined Ryan up on the goal line and said, 'Sprint,' and they are going to run 50 yards and see who wins, I don't know who I'm putting my money on," Ballou said.
But that is not the speed Ballou is looking for.
Williams, Ballou said, ran just under 23 mph "in full pads." Scott's speed of 23.4 mph came "in training."
"Now you have to do it on the football field with the ball in your hands," Ballou said. "That's another thing. And he knows that."
That is the next thing Scott said he's focused on, using that speed to his advantage when he is at the line of scrimmage.
"I often try to threaten DBs with speed," Scott said. "Depends on what the route is. But I'm just actually focused on running routes full speed all the time."
Speed is another element to Scott's game, something that has proved to be the talk of fall camp, from coaches to teammates.
Alabama football coach Kalen DeBoer said Scott can play both "inside and outside" in a wide receiver room DeBoer wants to be "extremely versatile."
Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb credited Scott's rise to his "body transformation" from the time he was hired to fall camp.
"I think he was one of the guys at the top speed this summer," Grubb said. "So one of our fastest guys on the team. Super physical player, willing to run through people. And then the level of detail he has on his route running for a young player, and the versatility can play inside, outside, you know, he's going to be a presence this year."
Alabama opens the 2025 season against Florida State Aug. 30.
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: Alabama football compares Ryan Williams, Rico Scott speed
