Ryan Williams, WR vs Wisconsin 2025

Player: Ryan Williams — WR, Alabama

Height: 6’0”

Weight: 178 lbs

Opponent: Wisconsin

Season: 2025
Final Stat Line: 5 receptions, 165 yards, 2 TDs

Film Link: Watch on YouTube

Overview

Against Wisconsin, Williams shows his skills as a separator with real sideline craft and the ability to create big plays and gain yards after the catch. He wins cleanly on deep outs/corners from both slot and wide alignments, adds a manufactured explosive play on a screen, and punctuates the day with a slot-fade back-shoulder that he turns into six with a sudden stop-cut. The lone blemish is a red-zone drop on a post that hits him in the hands. Net: a field-flipping receiver whose route tempo, leverage sense, and in-space suddenness create explosives across concepts.

Usage / Alignment: Mix of slot (left/right) and wide right. Route menu in this game: deep out/corner, slot fade (back-shoulder), post (drop), plus a manufactured jet-sweep → throwback screen touch that becomes a long TD.

Film Review – Key Plays

Play 1) 7:35 1Q, 3rd & 9 - 25 yard Catch

Slot left on a deep out; he creates clear separation out of the break, secures it near the sideline, turns upfield, and is pushed out. Here we see Williams display route tempo and leverage usage with clean separation at the break with sideline awareness that translates into YAC and moves the chains.

Play 2) 3:12 2Q, 1st & 10 - 20 yard Catch

Aligned wide right on a corner/deep-out vs zone; Williams splits the underneath and the deep defenders, works into the soft spot between defenders, and steps out after the catch. This play highlights his ability to find space between zones and present a big, friendly window—wide-open by design, but earned by pacing and understanding of the coverage’s soft spot.

Play 3) 15:00 3Q, 1st & 10 - 75 yard TD Catch & Run

Williams starts wide right on a jet sweep that turns into a throwback screen after two flips; he catches the ball with the entire OL out front, makes a couple defenders miss, and outruns angles down the sideline for the score. This clip is a reminder that while the concept manufactures the touch, the finish is him—vision behind convoy, a pair of forced misses, and long-speed to separate once he hits the boundary lane.

Play 4) 11:14 3Q, 2nd & 10 - 40 yard TD Catch & Run

You’ve probably already seen this highlight, but it’s so good I have to include it here. Starts in the slot on the right and runs a slot-fade; back-shoulder ball arrives to the sideline, he secures it, instantly stops on a dime to shake both the CB and the safety, cuts back inside, and takes it the rest of the way. This is the day’s signature: sudden stop/start and balance after the catch, paired with boundary-friendly ball skills—the back-shoulder becomes a runway because he wins the first tackle attempt with that violent decel.

Play 5) 14:05 4Q, 3rd & Goal - Drop In The end zone

As much greatness as we saw from Williams in this game, there’s one blemish I needed to show. Here he starts in the slot left on a post, and gets a step on the defender. The ball hits him in the hands, and he drops it. Yes, Bama is up big, and it doesn’t affect the outcome of the game, but this play is the one you circle: concentration at the catch point in the red zone—points off the board in a spot where finishing matters.

Final Thoughts

Williams piled explosives three different ways: won routes (outs/corners), boundary ball skills (slot-fade back-shoulder), and a screen pass turned TD he finished with vision, speed, and elusiveness. The drop is frustrating, but the overall tape is that of a primary space-creator with timing, leverage sense, and after-catch suddenness. If he strings together cleaner red-zone finishing and stacks this level against better secondaries, you’re looking at a weekly splash threat.

Strengths on Display

• Separation on outs/corners: Tempo into the break and leverage awareness to open a clean window, plus sideline transition to YAC.

• Boundary ball skills + YAC combo: Tracks/anchors the back-shoulder, then immediately transitions to a stop-cut and accelerates into daylight.

• Schemed touch → real finish: Screen TD shows vision behind blockers, quick misses, and runway speed once he hits the edge.

Areas for Improvement

• Concentration at the catch point: Finish the hands-on ball opportunities like the 3rd-and-goal post turn six into six.