Clark Lea emphasizes the importance of containing Ryan Williams when Vanderbilt faces Alabama

Ryan Williams has been a popular name in Tuscaloosa for quite some time now but broke out on the national stage Saturday against Georgia. His game-winning touchdown catch in the fourth quarter is still being talked about on Tuesday. Even Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea was amazed by Williams, talking about what he brings to the table.

“He’s got some of the best balance and body control that I’ve seen,” Lea said. “When you watch him, there’s a few plays that stand out in my mind, where he’s making plays as his body is contorting and the ball is bouncing around. One was a post in the Georgia game, one was the play on the sideline.”

Vanderbilt is next up on Alabama‘s schedule as Williams hopes to have another big game on the road. Lea will be trying to best to prevent the true freshmen from performing at a high level. Quarterback Jalen Milroe was the other player circled by Lea, saying those two players of who Nick Sheridan runs his offense through.

This week in practice will be spent trying to give Vanderbilt players game-like scenarios going up against Milroe and Williams.

Facing an elite dual-threat quarterback is nothing new for SEC defenses but Williams does present a different type of challenge. Lea says two defenders might be put on him when running downfield. After all, he is averaging 28.9 yards per reception through four games.

“We have to be aware of his opportunities to catch the deep ball,” Lea said. “We have to play to a level of fundamental, technical efficiency. In the situation where we have a post player and a man defender, we got to have two guys that can vice the ball down… There’s going to be times in this game where it takes two guys and that’s okay. It’s just about how we train it this week in practice.”

If Lea had somebody to replicate Williams in practice, he would be happy to have that type of player on his roster. Reality is, though, it’s nearly impossible to be 100% prepared for what Williams may do during a game.

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.