Kalen DeBoer recalls recruiting 17-year-old breakout star Ryan Williams
17-year-old true freshman wide receiver Ryan Williams was the hero on Saturday for the Alabama football team. The Crimson Tide blew a three possession lead in the fourth quarter against Georgia. The Crimson Tide led 33-15 in the fourth, but the Bulldogs quickly erased the deficit to take a 34-33 lead. The very next play, Jalen Milroe connected with Williams for a 75-yard touchdown that ended up giving Alabama the win.
Ryan Williams made one of the biggest plays in recent Alabama football history, and he did it as a true freshman. He also saved his head coach, Kalen DeBoer, from a very difficult situation. This was his first big game at Alabama, and it would not have been a good look to blow a 28-point lead at home against Georgia.
Kalen DeBoer came to Alabama from Washington this past offseason, and getting Williams to come play for the Crimson Tide was a priority as soon as he stepped foot in Tuscaloosa.
“He was a priority right off the bat and there was a lot happening as you said, and the most important thing I think always is the entire team,” DeBoer said during an appearance on the Paul Finebaum Show. “There was not going to be transfers for us to go bring in. We had to keep the retention of our team but anything outside of who we already had in the program. Ryan was certainly a priority in- state guy and we made a trip down there as quickly as we possibly could. We got a chance to get him on a visit up here, he got a chance to be around Coach Shephard, more of our staff and you could tell right there. I was just so impressed with his ability to just retain the information and then articulate it back out.”
Ryan Williams doesn’t seem like a true freshman
© Gary Cosby Jr.-Imagn Images
It was clear on Saturday night that Ryan Williams didn’t look like a true freshman that was only 17. He made numerous big plays on the field for the Alabama football team, including the game-winning touchdown. Kalen DeBoer has always seen a lot of maturity from his young star.
“It was just different than what I normally see from someone who you’re trying to give the understanding of your offense and what we want our program to look like,” DeBoer said. “How the culture should feel and what that should be. He just was able to regurgitate all that out almost identically to how we were spelling it out to him. He’s well beyond his years in many ways when it comes to the on the field but he’s also off the field just really bright. He’s into it, he’s listening, he’s learning all the time.”
One thing is for sure: Alabama found something very special with Williams.
Ryan Williams and Alabama will be back in action this Saturday against Vanderbilt. The Crimson Tide and Commodores will kickoff from FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee at 4:15 ET on Saturday. The game will be airing on the SEC Network, and the Crimson Tide are currently favored by 23 points.
The post Kalen DeBoer recalls recruiting 17-year-old breakout star Ryan Williams appeared first on ClutchPoints.
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