Five-Star Plus+ WR Ryan Williams talks signing with Alabama

The day has finally arrived. Ryan Williams has officially signed with the Alabama Crimson Tide.

National Signing Day Capsule: Five-Star Plus+ WR Ryan Williams

Although there were visits taken elsewhere and a brief two-week period when he wasn’t committed to Bama, Williams’ recruitment was not filled with too many twists and turns.

Williams committed to Alabama as a 2025 prospect in October 2022. He then put together back-to-back historically great seasons before announcing his reclassification to the Class of 2024 this past December. He opened up his recruitment after Nick Saban‘s retirement, but recommitted two weeks later after a pair of visits to Tuscaloosa.

It’s safe to say that the Five-Star Plus+ recruit is happy with his decision.

“Great. Amazing. Outstanding. Fantastic. Beautiful,” Williams told AL.com at his signing ceremony. “It feels great.”

After reopening his recruitment, Williams named a final four of Alabama, Auburn, Texas, and Texas A&M. The Aggies played host to him for an official visit the weekend of Jan. 13-14. Bama then welcomed him on campus twice the next week, which included his official to the school.

Williams had trips scheduled to Auburn and Texas, but ended up canceling those after rejoining the Tide’s class.

“It definitely wasn’t easy,” Williams said. “Just with everybody pulling at me and everybody wanting me a piece of me, it was definitely a tough decision. It came to be easy once I talked with Coach DeBoer and the new staff; it just made me feel very comfortable.”

The relationship-building process with Alabama’s new head coach took place in a short period of time, but Williams appreciated DeBoer’s authentic personality.

“Anyone else that came into that position, they’d try to live up to the Coach Saban hype or try to act like Coach Saban,” Williams said. “He’s himself. He’s very comfortable in himself. He made me very comfortable and I believe in his offense.”

Of course, some speculated that the Auburn legacy could wind up in the Tigers’ class after his decommitment. There was even some optimism on the Texas Longhorns’ side with Williams’ high school quarterback, KJ Lacey, being committed to UT.

So, was there ever a chance that Williams wouldn’t have wound up with the Tide following his decommitment?

“No,” Williams replied. “They were always at the top of the list for me. I just wanted to get to know the new staff.”

Ryan Williams credits another Bama signee for being a top recruiter

While DeBoer and Co. made a strong impression on Williams, a pivotal recruiter in Alabama’s pursuit was none other than Jaylen Mbakwe.

The five-star cornerback remained adamant that Williams would make Tuscaloosa his future home, and heavily recruited him during his January visits.

“I’m going to give him the No. 1 recruiter [title],” Williams said with a smile. “I’ve got to give it to him. If I don’t, he might beat me up.”

And what was Mbakwe’s message to his future teammate?

“We’ve got to play together, we’ve got to play together,” Williams replied. “Me and him, we’re like best friends, so we’ve got to.”

Prior to Saban’s retirement, the Crimson Tide held the No. 1 class in the 2025 cycle. Williams played a role in building that class up, which featured fellow five-star wideout and former Bama commit Jaime Ffrench. He’s working toward getting that class back on top.

“Oh, definitely. I’ve got to get everybody that I can,” Williams said. “I had the No. 1 2025 class in the country. We’ve got to get back to it. We’ve got to get back to it.”

To end his interview with the media, Williams let his passion for his future school be known.

“Roll Tide!” Williams yelled.

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