Kalen DeBoer reflects on importance of Ryan Williams recruitment

When Nick Saban announced his retirement, Ryan Williams opened his recruitment back up. Alabama had to fight to get the former Five-Star Plus+ back into their 2024 recruiting class and wound up being the first big win for Kalen DeBoer and his new coaching staff. Auburn was the main competition for Williams but ultimately, the Crimson Tide won out.

DeBoer was thrown into a fire once hired at Alabama and had what had to feel like 100 things going on at once. Keeping his own roster intact was at the top of the list but he admitted Williams was not too far behind. The NCAA transfer portal was already closed, meaning the only way to add was through recruiting.

“He was a priority right off the bat,” DeBoer said Wednesday during The Paul Finebaum Show. “There was a lot happening and the most important thing is the entire team. 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.”

Williams played high school football at Saraland (AL) High School, where he was a Five-Star Plus+ prospect. He was the No. 5 overall recruit in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Those types of recruits, right in the backyard, rarely got away from Saban and his staff. A lot of pressure was on DeBoer to get Williams back in the mix. So, his staff immediately got on the road to Saraland and went to see Williams before inviting him back to Tuscaloosa.

Williams obviously saw enough to recommit to Alabama but DeBoer was just as impressed. Dealing with a ton of talented players through his days, none stood out as quickly as the wide receiver.

“In-state guy, we made a trip down there as quickly as we possibly could,” DeBoer said. “Got him on a visit up here, he got to be around Coach (JaMarcus) Sheppard and our staff. I was impressed with his ability to retain the information and articulate it back out. It happened in a couple different ways where it was just different than what I normally see.”

DeBoer will be thankful and then some Williams is wearing crimson. His game-winning touchdown against Georgia is still being talked about four days later after sending Bryant-Denny Stadium into a frenzy on Saturday.

Williams has made an even bigger impact than a magic moment, being Alabama’s leading receiver through four games with 462 yards and five touchdowns on just 16 receptions. A nice recruiting win for somebody not familiar with the South, indeed.