The moment Ryan Williams got to the sideline after his second touchdown Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium against Mercer , the Alabama football freshman wide receiver went to find Germie Bernard .
Bernard sat out wide, assigned with blocking a cornerback to give Williams room to work. Once Bernard saw that corner was out of the play, the junior wide receiver took a few more steps forward and halted a linebacker trying to keep pace with Williams.
It's what Bernard is supposed to do, he said. It's unselfish. It's his job, no matter if he scores or not.
But it's something Williams was not going to let go unrecognized.
"I was like 'You a dog. You a dog. I appreciate you,'" Williams said. "(Bernard) was just smiling and cheesing."
If you ask what makes Williams the freshman phenom that he is as an Alabama wide receiver, that's what he will point to: the people around him, the work he's put in and the confidence he oozes because of it.
"I have to be confident," Williams said.
That was Alabama on Saturday afternoon against Mercer in the Crimson Tide's 52-7 win.
In a game where the Crimson Tide could have sleep-walked its way to a win, a win that may have looked dominant on paper, Williams showcased confidence – confidence the rest of the roster shares partly because of the freshman's production.
He took three receptions for 36 yards, including a 14-yard score. He had one 29-yard end-around touchdown rush on his first touch of the game. And by the middle of the third quarter, Williams' day was done, having secured the third multi-touchdown game of his career.
"He's a player that comes to work every day," DeBoer said. "Nothing goes to his head. He's about the team. He really is. … When we need to make a play, he's ready."
Williams' first two multi-touchdown games could not have been more different.
The first? A two-touchdown, 139-yard coming out party in Alabama's season opener against Western Kentucky.
The second? Pairing a 2-yard touchdown rush and a 58-yard touchdown pass with a 40-35 stunning road loss to Vanderbilt.
Saturday was somewhere in between against Mercer, a defense that allowed 508 total yards and 319 passing yards and 23 completions split between 13 receivers.
Williams' role doesn't change, though, with Oklahoma and Auburn on the horizon.
DeBoer expects Williams to be a leader, a playmaker as a 17-year-old who has had the respect of the entire team since his first practice with the Crimson Tide .
"I think we know how old he is, right?" DeBoer said.
Age doesn't matter with Williams. Nor does which team is on the other sideline.
All Williams is focused on is taking advantage of the opportunities given to him, ones like Bernard set up for him on a golden platter in the first quarter against Mercer.
"They did their part," Williams said. "So I had to do mine."
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: What Ryan Williams vs Mercer tells us about rest of Alabama football season
