Auburn working to land 5-star WR Ryan Williams, flip Alabama commits after Nick Saban retirement

On Wednesday, ESPN’s Chris Low reported that legendary coach Nick Saban was retiring from his role as head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Following the monumental news, Saraland (Ala.) Five-Star Plus+ wide receiver Ryan Williams decommitted from the Tide. Williams’ recruitment had been hotly contested for months as Texas and especially Auburn continued to try to flip him from Alabama. He is expected to still take all of his official visits before signing in February — including a trip to the Plains just days before National Signing Day.

Auburn recruiting insider Cole Pinkston joined The Inside Scoop football recruiting show to discuss where the Tigers now stand in Williams’ recruitment.

“Well it was kind of a shock, man. We didn’t expect that to happen so fast. Honestly, I didn’t expect a decommitment,” Pinkston said about Williams. “I expected him to sign with one of his three schools — which is Auburn, Alabama or Texas. Auburn’s been in this for a while, man. You know, it’s not like that news was the end-all for Alabama and Auburn in it. They’ve been in it the whole time. So we’ve been following it, 50-50 we heard at one time.

“I think Ryan Williams is going to take a really good look at all three schools. I do think he wants to know who Alabama is going to hire and that matters. Let’s just say Alabama hires a guy like Steve Sarkisian who’s at Texas, who’s recruiting him now. Does that matter? I think it does. So kind of a toss-up, I give Auburn maybe an edge right now. A slight edge.”

Williams isn’t the only Tide target that Auburn is working to land. A trio of 2025 Alabama commits are on Auburn’s radar as well.

2025 4-star EDGE Zion Grady

Troy (Ala.) Charles Henderson top-40 EDGE Zion Grady pledged to Alabama in mid-November.

“Yeah, Zion Grady right down the road in Troy, Alabama Charles Henderson High School, which is where Zac Etheridge, the DB coach for Auburn is from,” Pinkston said. “I think Zion Grady is a guy who’s been on campus a few times at Auburn and we’ve seen him. We know that he’s a big target. When the new defensive coordinator is hired, he’ll be an even bigger target for Auburn depending on how he wants to handle the EDGEs — and we think Zion Grady is an EDGE for sure. So I think he’s a guy that Auburn is in on right now and has a really good shot with now that things are opened up at Alabama.”

2025 4-star RB Anthony Rogers

IMG Academy top-100 running back Anthony Rogers committed to the Crimson Tide back in June.

“You know, the running back position is wide open for Auburn in 2025,” Pinkston said. “Anthony Rodgers was the guy they were high on early. He’s from Pike Road, Alabama, which is 30 minutes down the road from Auburn. He’s at IMG Academy now. We expect to see him back on campus at some point this offseason at Auburn because he’s been there several times. Don’t think Auburn has ever given up there. But now, again, there is a window and I think Auburn’s going to go after him big time.”

2025 4-star IOL Dontrell Glover

Fairburn (Ga.) Langston Hughes four-star interior offensive lineman Dontrell Glover was the earliest of the trio of flip targets to commit to Alabama, doing so in April.

“So the big thing with him, is he goes to Langston Hughes High School in Fairburn, Georgia. That’s a school that Auburn’s had success with. They’ve got a guy on the roster — Terrance Love — who was a big recruit, four-star guy from Langston Hughes a year ago. They’ve got two guys right now who are huge targets other than Dontrell Glover in Tavaris Dice and Tyler Atkinson. And those guys come to Auburn a good bit, Glover is usually with him. So that tells me, when we see a guy pop up at Auburn’s campus, that is a very important guy. That’s a guy that we’ve got to keep tabs on. And we know that Auburn’s going to need five, six, seven guys on the offensive line. Dontrell Glover seems like he’s pretty high on Auburn.”