WILLIAMS went back and watched tape of himself from last season, he looked past the drops and the hesitancy and instead looked at his body language and demeanor
He knew that as the 2025 season unfolded, he lost the swagger that made him a breakout star as a true freshman. But the tape made it more glaring. He barely smiled. He slouched. Never danced on the sideline after a big drive or looked like he was having any fun.
Coleman-Williams is a psychology major, so it was straightforward to self-scout. Early in the season, he didn’t live up to expectations, which led to a crisis in confidence, which led to the drops, which led to overthinking said drops, which led to more drops. Add in a leg injury that hindered him for most of the season and you end up with a rough year.
Now, he enters this season as perhaps
Now, he enters this season as perhaps the oldest young player in college football. Going into his junior year at age 19, Coleman-Williams changed his name, his uniform number, his workout habits and his mindset, got married and had a baby. He says he feels more grounded, better physically and much faster than at any other point in his career.
Yet nobody knows which Ryan Coleman-Williams will take the field when Alabama opens the season against East Carolina: The 17-year-old freshman phenom, or the player who muddled through last season, uncomfortable and sometimes lost.
“You’re just going to have to see,” Coleman-Williams told ESPN.
FOR A MOMENT, Coleman-Williams was invincible.
“My freshman year, even whenever I was doing wrong, I still could do no wrong,” he said. “But the older you get, the more real it gets. So just facing those challenges throughout my sophomore year, you realize the opportunities that you have, you have to maximize them because that’s real life.”
Coleman-Williams’ jaw-dropping 75-yard touchdown catch to beat Georgia
Coleman-Williams’ jaw-dropping 75-yard touchdown catch to beat Georgia in his fourth collegiate game involved acrobatics, multiple spin moves, speed and incredible sideline awareness. It announced him to the world at an early age. He was this good, and still just 17.
Alabama answers right back with Ryan Williams’ 75-yard touchdown
His productivity slowed down in the second half of the season, but he finished with 865 yards and eight touchdowns and averaged 18 yards per catch. When the 2025 season began, he was a preseason All-American with even bigger plans. But that also put a bigger spotlight on him, with more expectations and more pressure.
In the season opener against Florida State, Coleman-Williams never looked comfortable. He had multiple drops, took several hard hits and ended up with a concussion in the fourth quarter.
After he recovered, a leg injury in October
After he recovered, a leg injury in October hobbled him for the rest of the season. Coleman-Williams struggled with the little things — starting with catching passes. His 10 drops led the SEC and were tied for third most in the country. Perhaps as he lost confidence, quarterback Ty Simpson lost confidence in him.
His target share dropped to 15%, down from 25% his freshman year Coleman-Williams ended up having zero targets against Auburn in the regular-season finale
He might have wowed a nation with the plays he made as a 17-year-old, but as his mom, Tiffany Coleman, says, “Ryan was still just a kid.”
Coleman-Williams still finished last season second
Coleman-Williams still finished last season second on the Crimson Tide with 49 catches for 689 yards. But he had half as many touchdown receptions as his freshman year, and his yards per catch average dipped nearly 4 yards.
His mom tried to help him get through the tough times but also acknowledged there was more than just the pressure he put on himself to do well. Familial pressure played a role, too, she said.
“When you have my dad come up and be like, ‘Man, I want my 50 pushups because you were supposed to catch that ball.’ He had too much on his brain instead of the game,” Coleman said. “Like I gotta catch this because if I don’t catch this, I know my pawpaw is gonna say something. If I don’t catch this, I know my daddy is gonna say something. He was playing for them instead of him.”
Coleman-Williams initially chose to major in psychology because
Coleman-Williams initially chose to major in psychology because he wanted to understand what made people tick. But over the past two years, learning how the mind works has helped Coleman-Williams better understand himself. Coleman-Williams realized all his overthinking was getting in the way of his ability to play free and have fun. Suddenly, catching the ball — something he always did without thinking — became something he thought about too much.
It was obvious to Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer, too.
“I think that’s growth for any person — having to figure out, ‘Oh no, I didn’t forget how to catch a football. I still have really good hands,'” DeBoer said. “Just getting back to the fundamentals of making sure you’re locking it in and not getting ahead of yourself.
“He always wants to do so much with the ball after he catches it. Sometimes it’s just a simple, ‘Hey, take an extra second to look it in.’ You might go down one time, but at least you got those yards. The next time, you’re going to have a little bit more space. Catch it first and then you’re going to go do your thing like you always do, and what people expect.”
COLEMAN-WILLIAMS HAS TATTOOS all over his body,
COLEMAN-WILLIAMS HAS TATTOOS all over his body, but the one he thinks about most often is the barren tree on his rib cage — a tree trunk with deep roots and branches that have no leaves.
“Even when it’s beautiful, it’s not as beautiful as you think. Even when it’s ugly, it’s not as ugly as you think,” Coleman-Williams said. “So just using that as a reminder to enjoy the current moment and focus on just that moment.”
Those lessons learned led Coleman-Williams to do more reflection when the 2025 season ended. He reminded himself to push past the pressure and the expectation, the negativity and the critics, and focus on the fun — the whole reason he plays football. He decided to add Coleman to his jersey to honor his mom and to change to the number he wore in high school: No. 1.
He also said at SEC media days
He also said at SEC media days that he had married his girlfriend, whom he had met while shopping in Atlanta for a Mother’s Day gift for his mom last year. They recently welcomed a son.
“I definitely think that there’s a lot more to life than just that leather ball,” Coleman-Williams said. “So I enjoy every moment of it, and I’m just thankful for all the lessons. I love learning from them.”
Coleman-Williams likes to call his junior year a “hard reset.” But he has done more than work on his mental approach. As hard as it might seem to believe, Coleman-Williams is now one of the veterans on an Alabama team still smarting after an embarrassing loss to Indiana in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals last year.
It’s crazy to think how much time has
“It’s crazy to think how much time has flown,” Coleman-Williams said. “I am just trying to lead by example and think of ways I could bring guys along because I know that’s what it’s gonna take in order for us to have the season we want to this year.”
He has led offseason workouts, encouraging teammates to push harder. Cornerback Zabien Brown said the discipline and diligence Coleman-Williams shows in his work and preparation has motivated him to do better.
“Talking to him more now, it just seems like he’s in a great spot,” Brown said. “He just seems happy. And at the end of the day, that’s what we need. He knows what his success is going to bring to our team and how he affects everybody around him, and I think he proudly carries that weight.”
This was also the first offseason in which
This was also the first offseason in which Coleman-Williams was completely healthy after injuries held him back over the past two springs. He also says he has taken a more proactive approach in taking care of his body to prevent any nagging injuries, prioritizing his recovery while also adding 15 pounds of muscle to help with his strength and speed.
Coleman-Williams also increased his work on the Jugs machine — catching between 350 and 450 balls daily during the offseason — more than at any other point in his life.
“I’m bigger, stronger, faster, healthier,” Coleman-Williams said. “I think that also has to do with the developmental piece. Just being at Alabama going on my third year now, the body just responds better.”
The question, then, is how will Coleman-Williams respond
The question, then, is how will Coleman-Williams respond on the field? So far in fall camp, the coaching staff has had nothing but raves. Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said earlier in August that Coleman-Williams was having an “unbelievable” camp and “he’s just an absolute wonder.”
“His preparation has been second to nobody on this football team,” Grubb told reporters in Tuscaloosa. “He comes in here during the summer, and there was no time off. Guys go home for May, he was right here catching balls off the Jugs.”
Tuscaloosa has become home. Coleman-Williams moved his mom and five siblings to town last year from Mobile, Alabama, where he grew up. He has always been exceptionally close with his mother. After Coleman-Williams arrived at Alabama in May 2024, Coleman would make the 3½-hour drive north from Mobile every weekend with Coleman-Williams’ siblings just to visit.
In April 2025, around her birthday, Coleman
In April 2025, around her birthday, Coleman was in town visiting when Coleman-Williams asked her to follow him on a car ride. They pulled up to a house, and he told his mom to go inside and take a look.
“I was checking everything out and saying, ‘This is awesome,'” Coleman said.
Coleman-Williams turned to his mom and asked, “Do you want it?”
Coleman-Williams said, “Well, you got it.”
A month later, Coleman and his siblings had moved into the house.
“I cried,” Coleman said. “I told him I appreciate everything you do, but you didn’t have to. I still have my house in Mobile. I just wasn’t expecting that.”
Coleman has always provided the support her son has needed, and he realized he needed her around. She has watched him mature, as they have talked at length about being in the right state of mind headed into such an important season.
“Whether you’re doing good or bad, people create narratives. So that’s just stuff that we talk about: Remember who you are,” Coleman said. “At the end of all this, people are going to talk, and when you go out there and have a phenomenal season, they’re going to have everything good to say.”
Source: www.espn.com
