Alabama alum has straightforward 1-word response to if he’s blown away by Ryan Williams’ performance against Georgia

Ryan Williams is the new sensation in town after he starred in No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide's (4-0, 1-0) thrilling 31-24 victory over the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs (3-0, 0-1) in Week 5.

The 17-year-old Alabama freshman wide receiver caught six passes for 177 yards. These included two game-changing moments — an incredible go-ahead touchdown with just over two minutes left and a 54-yard snatch.

Talking about Williams, Alabama alum and Super Bowl XLIV winning safety Roman Harper gave an interesting response to a question. When asked on 'The Next Round' podcast if the freshman’s performance blew him away, Harper had a simple, no-nonsense answer: "Nope."

He explained that Williams is just playing free, unburdened by expectations.

“This is what happens when you don’t know any better. He doesn’t know he’s not supposed to do all these spin moves, look over his shoulder before the ball gets there so he can reverse spin then reverse spin back.

“He’s playing free and because nothing bad has happened to him, he can do it. Don’t tell him anything different, just let him go.”

Even Georgia coach Kirby Smart had to give credit where it was due. “Great player,” Smart admitted, acknowledging that there wasn’t much his defense could do to stop the young phenom.

Alabama have a Ryan Williams problem

Alabama has a major issue regarding Ryan Williams on its hands, which every top program would love to have. Williams, who reclassified from the class of 2025 to 2024, has already stormed the NIL era and is setting the stage for a new generation of player empowerment.

Williams has been recruited not once, not twice, but three times by the Crimson Tide, even though he first committed to Alabama as a 10th grader. The transfer portal and NIL deals are king these days, and keeping a player like Williams is no easy task.

After Nick Saban's retirement, chaos ensued. Williams had de-committed from Alabama within hours of Saban’s announcement, and other programs — especially Auburn — pounced on the opportunity to lure the young star.

Williams himself admitted on the 'New Wave Podcast' that Auburn’s Iron Bowl win nearly swayed him to flip his commitment.

However, Crimson Tide's new coach ensured that the teenager was a priority in Alabama’s football vision and thus managed to reel him back swiftly. Talking to Paul Finebaum on his YouTube show after the Georgia win, DeBoer said:

"He was a priority right off the bat. There was not going to be transfers for us to go bring in. Ryan was certainly a priority in-state guy, and we made a trip down there as quickly as we possibly could." [05:35]

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However, questions remain — can Alabama keep him locked down in this wild NIL landscape? His NIL value skyrocketed to $1.5 million (as per On3) after the Georgia game, and Williams’ future is as bright as ever.

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