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Despite being the youngest FBS player this season, Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams has already taken college football by storm with 177 yards and the game-winning touchdown in Saturday's 41-34 victory over Georgia.
Williams made himself college-eligible at the age of 17 by graduating from Saraland High School early and reclassifying to 2024. He officially announced the move last December, while also confirming he would be going to the University of Alabama.
"Definitely dominating at the high school level," Williams said of his decision to go to college early. "Me and my family took careful consideration after my sophomore football season, and we decided it was a decision we wanted to make. We went through the whole season. We wanted to make sure it was after the season so the focus wasn't on me because I always want to be team first. Once the season was complete, it was time. Today's the day."
Williams became the first two-time winner of Alabama's Mr. Football award, taking home the honor in 2022 and 2023. He finished his final season at Saraland with 72 catches for 1,324 yards and 19 touchdowns.
The Alabama native originally committed to the Crimson Tide during his sophomore season in Oct. 2022.
There was some concern that Nick Saban's retirement would impact Williams' verbal pledge to the program. He told ESPN's Tom VanHaaren on Jan. 10, hours after Saban announced his decision, he was reopening his recruiting.
"I had no idea, actually," Williams told ESPN. "It's the dead period and I just saw all the other players transferring or declaring for the draft. I was wondering [what would happen], but I found out through Twitter [that Saban was retiring]."
After Kalen DeBoer was hired by Alabama to replace Saban on Jan. 12, Williams announced 12 days later that he was again committed to the Crimson Tide.
Expectations for Williams were sky-high after the reclassification. He was a 5-star prospect and No. 3 overall player in the 2024 class, per 247Sports' composite rankings.
Williams has more than lived up to the hype, despite playing this whole season as a 17-year-old. He has 462 yards and five touchdowns on 16 receptions in four games. The highlight of his young career was the go-ahead 75-yard touchdown catch against Georgia.
Williams' 28.9 yards per reception ranks first among all FBS players with at least 10 catches. His 177 yards against the Bulldogs were his most in a game this season. Georgia entered the matchup having allowed no more than 76 receiving yards to a single player in its first three games.
There appears to be no ceiling on what Williams is capable of doing. He won't even turn 18 until Feb. 9. If you want to look ahead to the NFL, he will be draft-eligible in 2027.
Assuming the NFL draft remains a late-April event, Williams would be 20 years and three months then. There have only been three players in history who were younger than that at the time they were drafted.