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The Tuscaloosa News
3 things to know about Alabama football freshman wide receiver Ryan Williams
- Story byThe Tuscaloosa News
- 3 things to know about Alabama football freshman wide receiver Ryan Williams
Alabama football 's Ryan Williams may only be 17-years-old, but there is quite the buzz surrounding the budding star heading into the 2024 season.
The 6-foot, 175-pound five-star joined the Crimson Tide this summer, coming in as the top-rated prospect within Alabama 's 2024 class. The Saraland, Alabama native made quite the name for him during his three-year high school career, including a state championship in 2022 and being named the first two-time Mr. Football winner.
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Williams is competing for time in an Alabama wide receiver room headlined by Germie Bernard , Kendrick Law and Kobe Prentice . He is one of many talented true freshmen within the unit, including Caleb Odom and Rico Scott. Despite his recent arrival to campus, Williams' coaches and teammates alike have been praising what they have seen from the freshman.
Here are three things to know about Ryan Williams, the Alabama football true freshman.
Ryan Williams commits, decommits to Alabama football
Williams first pledged his commitment to Alabama in October 2022 during his sophomore year in high school. Following legendary coach Nick Saban's retirement in January, though, Williams decommitted from Alabama. He then took a few visits to Texas A&M and Alabama, having one planned to Texas but eventually cancelling, before he recommitted to the Crimson Tide on Jan. 24.
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He was a member of an Alabama 2024 recruiting cycle which ranked second in the nation per the 247Sports Composite. Within the 2024 recruiting cycle as a whole, Williams was ranked as the No. 2 prospect in Alabama, the No. 3 wide receiver and the No. 8 recruit nationally, per the 247Sports Composite.
Ryan Williams: The first two-time Alabama Mr. Football winner
Earlier this year, Williams was named as the recipient of the Alabama Sports Writers Association's Mr. Football award winner, being the first-player to win the award twice. Williams first earned the award after his sophomore year at Saraland, where the Spartans won the 6A state title.
Williams finished his junior season at Saraland with 72 receptions for 1,324 yards and 19 touchdowns, including 343 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns in the state championship game. The Spartans came up just short of winning the state title in 2023, falling 31-28 to Clay-Chalkville. Despite the loss, Williams still scored four touchdowns.
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Ryan Williams reclassified from the 2025 class to the 2024 class
Technically, Williams is supposed to be a senior in high school. Instead, he decided to reclassify from the 2025 class to the 2024 class, joining Alabama a year. Williams announced this decision a few days after the 2023 state championship game. He was previously the top-ranked prospect in the 2025 class per the 247Sports Composite before reclassifying.
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Williams graduated from Saraland in May and joined Alabama not long after, first joining the team for its fall camp preseason practices. He is the youngest member of the Alabama football team at 17-years-old, but his age should not stop him come this fall.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Ryan Williams: 3 things to know about the Alabama football freshman WR
