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The Tuscaloosa News
Ryan Williams could dominate at Alabama under Kalen DeBoer. Just ask Michael Penix Jr.
- Story byThe Tuscaloosa News
- Ryan Williams could dominate at Alabama under Kalen DeBoer. Just ask Michael Penix Jr.
Michael Penix Jr. didn't even hesitate to provide his answer.
The former Washington quarterback knew his response right away. The question — which position, outside of quarterback, should be licking their chops most to play in a Kalen DeBoer/Ryan Grubb offense with Alabama football?
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"Obviously receivers," Penix told The Tuscaloosa News via phone. "They're going to throw the ball, so it's going to be fun for those guys."
Players such as Kendrick Law , Kobe Prentice , Jalen Hale and other receivers on the Crimson Tide roster have to like hearing that.
Ryan Williams , too.
The five-star receiver from Saraland decommitted from Alabama in the wake of Nick Saban's retirement on Jan. 10 . But then Williams recommitted to Alabama on Wednesday, given new coach Kalen DeBoer a big recruiting win right out of the gates.
Saraland's wide receiver Ryan a. Williams (1) walks onto the field during the second round of the high school football playoffs Friday, Nov. 11, 2022 at Hillcrest High School.
Williams is the No. 3 receiver and No. 6 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class, per the 247Sports Composite. And Williams wasn't even supposed to be part of this class; he reclassified from 2025.
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Williams decision to play for DeBoer will probably turn out to be a smart one. Williams might not find an offense in which he can thrive better than the Crimson Tide's under DeBoer and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. In back-to-back years, 2022 and 2023, Penix had two 1,000-yard receivers each season.
"It's just fun," Penix said of the DeBoer/Grubb offense. "It's explosive. You're going to be able to push the ball down the field, and you're going to see a lot of explosive plays all across the field, especially with them calling it, they always put you in the right position to make a great play. It made my job very easy."
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The Washington offense often made things look easy at times, too. In 2023, Penix passed for more yards than any quarterback in college football this past season with 4,903. He had two 1,000 yard receivers in Rome Odunze (1,640) and Ja'Lynn Polk (1,159) and the duo combined for 22 receiving touchdowns. Jalen McMillan also caught 45 passes for 559 yards and five touchdowns. In total, Penix completed 363 passes on 555 attempts over 15 games. Those efforts earned him Heisman Trophy runner-up status and a spot in the national championship game.
Over 13 games in 2022, Penix completed 362 of 554 passes for 4,641 yards and 31 touchdowns. Odunze also reached 1,000 receiving yards, as did McMillan.
For comparison, in Alabama's offense this past season, quarterback Jalen Milroe completed 187 passes on 284 attempts over 13 games in 2023, so almost 300 fewer attempts. No Alabama receivers came close to 1,000 receiving yards either of the past two seasons.
There should be ample opportunities for receivers under DeBoer/Grubb, though.
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It happened at more places than Washington, too. Jake Haener , who played quarterback for DeBoer/Grubb at Fresno State , gave the same answer as Penix to the question about which position group at Alabama should be most excited.
"The wide receivers … (DeBoer and Grubb) are not scared to go (four receivers)," Haener told The Tuscaloosa News. "They're not scared to put the best weapons on the field at all times. If that's the receivers, they'll make defenses guard the entire field and spread you out and get light boxes and try to run the ball."
At Fresno State over 13 games in 2021, Haener completed 329 of 490 passes for 4,096 yards and 33 touchdowns. He had two receivers catch at least 50 passes; Jalen Moreno-Cropper grabbed 85 passes for 899 yards and 11 touchdowns. Meanwhile, Josh Kelly caught 52 passes for 778 yards and 3 touchdowns. Six different receivers snagged touchdowns that season.
How similar Alabama's offense looks to those under DeBoer/Grubb at Washington and Fresno State remains to be seen. But the high number of targets makes it a safe assumption that Alabama will run a system where wide receivers can thrive.
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Nick Kelly is the Alabama beat writer for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network, and he covers Alabama football and men's basketball. Reach him at nkelly@gannett.com or follow him @_NickKelly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter .
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Ryan Williams: Why five-star could dominate under Kalen DeBoer
