Getty Image
Five-star wide receiver Ryan Williams’ whirlwind recruitment has seemingly come to an end. The talented pass catcher has re-committed to Alabama.
His initial pledge was surrounded by uncertainty following Nick Saban’s retirement, but after a brief decommitment, he’s now back in the boat.
With that being said, he becomes Kalen DeBoer’s first “big get” in Tuscaloosa ending somewhat of a skid on the trail. The Tide had previously been dealing with a mass exodus of transfers as well as recruiting losses.
That included Williams, who backed off his Bama pledge on January 10th.
Fortunately for the Tide, he was a fan of the DeBoer hire, and two weeks later, he again became the headliner in the 2024 class.
Ain’t Really Leave But I’m Back 🥰!! #RollTide🐘 @AlabamaFTBL @KalenDeBoer @GrubbRyan @GoatLatia @GoSaraland @RyanMWms @Brett_Boutwell @tjkelly17 @coachTigg @SaralandSchools pic.twitter.com/w3ucf8p7Gg
— 𝐑𝐲𝐚𝐧 “𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐲𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝” 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝟏 (@Ryanwms1) January 24, 2024
Interestingly, the announcement came immediately following the team’s basketball win over Auburn as he hit the Tigers twice with the commitment decision.
Ryan Williams snubs Auburn
Not only did he make his commitment to rival Alabama, but Williams also cancelled an upcoming visit to Auburn the same night.
Ryan Williams cancelled his Auburn visit less than 1 minute after Alabama defeated Auburn in Coleman.
He’s a certified gump already.
— Sidelines – Bama (@SSN_Alabama) January 25, 2024
The wideout was expected to hit The Plains in early February, giving Hugh Freeze one last shot to nab the five-star prospect.
As it turns out, he won’t get the chance.
“Ryan Williams tells me he has cancelled his visit to Auburn and has officially shut down his recruitment,” Hayes Fawcett wrote on social media shortly after the news went public.
Point, Alabama.
Kalen DeBoer’s authenticity pays dividends
DeBoer was put in the undesirable position of following Nick Saban, arguably the greatest coach in the history of college football.
Boasting a strong resume but no SEC experience, he could’ve opted to overcompensate in an attempt to quickly assimilate into Alabama culture.
Instead, he continued to stay, unapologetically, himself.
No fake accents, here! (Cough… Brian Kelly… cough).
DeBoer appeared on the Pat McAfee Show earlier this week to talk about his new role. Not surprisingly, he was out recruiting – just hours before picking up his five-star commitment!
“I think that would go wrong for me,” he responded when asked about his approach. “I know who I am. There’s South Dakota in there, and that’s who I am.”
DeBoer isn’t trying to be Saban, or anyone else for that matter. He’s doing things his way, which has proven to be successful at previous stops.
That authenticity is already paying dividends!