For JaMarcus Shephard to explain who Ryan Williams was for Alabama football in 2024, he first went to the Georgia game.
On the latest episode of “The Tides That Bind: Inside Alabama Football” on Fox Nation, the Alabama co-offensive coordinator, assistant head coach and wide receivers coach took viewers through Williams’ game-winning touchdown where he spun, jukes and forced two Bulldogs’ defenders to run into each other.
To Shephard, the “small details go into why (Williams) is going to be successful as a pro one day.”
“This kid is extremely coachable,” Shephard said. “He knows and understands what’s at stake here in college football. And that’s why he’s going to be a great pro as well.”
The latest Alabama documentary episode takes a closer look at Williams’ upbringing, sharing how Williams had become a father figure to his sisters, one of which he honors each game by painting his fingernails.
Williams also described his relationship with Alabama director of player personnel Bob Welton as “the father I’ve never had.”
“He connects with me easily,” Williams said of Welton. “And even during my recruiting process, he was just always a dad away from home. And that was really what made me come to Alabama, just because I felt like I had family here.”
But Williams also shared his emotions toward the pressure he’s under. After admitting he grew up without much money in his family, he said, when he got to Alabama, he said “money changes everything, but nothing can prepare you.”
“It’s not easy,” Williams said. “It’s almost Mission Impossible, especially for me. My whole life, I’ve never said no.”
As a true freshman, Williams led Alabama with 865 receiving yards and eight touchdown receptions.
Williams’ time on the football field, Shephard said, is the receiver’s “safe haven,” the time where Williams “can shut off all the things off the field that aren’t going exactly how he wants them to, and just terrorize every person that’s in front of him for his own personal pleasure.”
“When he leaves that field, it’s not about him anymore. It’s about everything else going on in his life,” Shephard said. “And really, it’s what I say, poetry in motion. He’s writing a masterpiece when he’s out there on the field. Sometimes I feel bad for him because he does get pulled in a lot of different directions. But to whom much is given, much is expected from him. So, hey, I tell him that all the time: ‘Buddy, hey, you’ve been given a great talent. You got to be a good steward of that talent and take care of your family.’”
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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