JaMarcus Shephard wants to clear up two narratives about Alabama football wide receiver Ryan Williams after Saturday's 24-17 road loss to Tennessee .
No, quarterback Jalen Milroe and the Alabama offense did not design a game plan centered around getting Williams the ball every play despite finishing with 18 targets on 38 pass attempts.
"We distributed the ball to where it should have been going all week long," Shephard said. "All throughout the game, that's where the ball should have been going. If it was supposed to go somewhere else, it would have went somewhere else. That's not us designing every play to try and get the ball to one single person. If that's where the ball was supposed to go, that's where it went."
And no, Shephard said Milroe was not forcing the ball to Williams downfield.
"So I'll be clear, Milroe did not force the ball anywhere," Shephard said. "We're not forcing it anywhere, so let's change that narrative right now, OK? That did not happen."
What Williams saw against Tennessee, Shephard said, was nothing new for the freshman wide receiver who has consistently seen multiple defensive backs assigned to him in coverage.
Against Tennessee, Williams finished with eight catches on 16 targets for 73 yards and a touchdown: a 5-yard bobbled catch that was Milroe's only touchdown pass of the game.
After the Tennessee game, Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said there was an "intentional element" to ensure Williams was a part of the game plan.
"You have to have confidence in your players to continue to go back and go make the next play," DeBoer said. "We obviosuly have a belief in every one of our players. He's a guy that can go and make those plays anytime, so we got to continue to make sure he's a strong part of the game."
As Alabama prepares for Missouri , Shepard said Williams' approach for the week is also nothing new: continue to fight, continue to use "great technique" to find ways to create even more separation, something he said Williams did multiple times against the Volunteers.
Alabama takes on Missouri at 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC from 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: Did Alabama football target Ryan Williams too much vs Tennessee?
