The past few days have been a period of reckoning for the Alabama Crimson Tide after their shocking upset loss to the Florida State Seminoles. It wasn't the fact that Alabama was upset by Florida State but, the way in which the team looked as they were dominated on the line of scrimmage, had questionable hustle, and clearly lacked the attention to detail that made Nick Saban's teams so great.
As the standard of the program is appearing to slip through Kalen DeBoer and the team's finger tips, the players who helped build that standard are doing what they likely did when they were players, policing the effort of the players. Among the many to step in has been Alabama great AJ McCarron who was on the sidelines for the game this weekend.
This weekend as we saw Ryan Grubb take over at offensive coordinator, he moved Ryan Williams into the slot after he spent most of the season on the outside. The move to the slot makes a ton of sense as it can create favorable matchups for a player like Williams and it can also give him a better release off of the line.
The move clearly didn't work out as Williams only caught 5 passes for 30 yards, but he did leave the game early with a concussion.
On his appearance on the McCready & Siskey Show, AJ McCarron called out one of Alabama's biggest stars, questioning the toughness of wide receiver Ryan Williams.
"He didn’t look good inside, go back and anyone that wants to question what I’m talking about, go back and watch the film. When he was inside running routes, he looked terrified when he was running across the middle. Terrified to get hit."AJ McCarron
Calling Ryan Williams terrified wasn't the end for AJ McCarron, as he then compared Williams to DeVonta Smith. The comparisons may be unfair as DeVonta Smith is one of the greatest receivers ever at the College level but, the comparison comes in part because of how talented Williams is and the fact that Steve Sarkisian would move Smith all over the field and he would dominate.
"I’ll tell you the difference between him and DeVonta Smith. DeVonta Smith went across the middle and would catch balls. Ryan Williams does not want to go across the middle at all. He has a scared factor to him."AJ McCarron
It's tough to question Ryan Williams' toughness as he did take a massive hit early in the game and may have been dealing with an injury. In the game, Williams was targeted 11 times with 5 catches for 30 yards including 2 or 3 drops depending on how you judge them.
Ryan Williams was targeted 11 times on Saturday against Florida State. He hauled in 5 receptions for 30 yards with 2 drops.
— Joe Gaither (@JoeGaither6) August 31, 2025
How do you think Williams performed in the season opener? pic.twitter.com/nr2XTBpAWr
On some of the passes, it's clear that they aren't the best ball from Ty Simpson, and it may be unfair to judge him for not making the incredible catches we've seen. Williams also drew pass interference calls twice, and if he's instead able to score or make massive chunk plays, his stat line looks much better, but they don't show up in the box score, so he may be looked at differently.
When Williams is back in the lineup and fully recovered from his concussion, he may just be more fit to play on the outside. We saw Williams dominate College Football on the outside and to move him inside may be the wrong decision, even if there's advantages to playing the slot.
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