For Alabama Crimson Tide fans, ‘enough is enough’ might be the sentiment. The 2024 season was a shocker—their legendary coach, GOAT Nick Saban, retired, and their debut HC, Kalen DeBoer, finished with a 9-4 record. They’ve seen it all. However, the 2025 season brought a glimmer of hope, thanks to their 18-year-old phenom wide receiver, Ryan Williams. But it seems Alabama’s bad luck isn’t over yet. The Crimson Tide held its second spring scrimmage on April 4th at Bryant-Denny Stadium, and sadly, Williams was absent. That’s when DeBoer revealed the big reason why.

Well, spring was expected to be all easy breezy for DeBoer’s squad. Sadly, this only seems to spark worry in Tuscaloosa. Fans kept searching for explanations about their favorite player’s absence. After all, Williams has built a significant following. Despite a bit of a to-and-fro journey for the WR, he made his mark with the Crimson Tide, racking up 865 yards and 8 touchdowns in the 2024 season. And how could we forget Williams’ heroic feat against Georgia? His 75-yard touchdown catch, complete with an electrifying spin move and a sprint to the end zone, showcased his agility. But perhaps Bama fans should prepare themselves for a less favorable outcome. As Williams went missing, the head coach made it sound as if the team was simply exercising caution due to minor injuries. 

On April 4, DeBoer faced the media after their second spring scrimmage. He started with, “We didn’t have Ryan scrimmage today.” The star WR was sidelined by an undisclosed injury and could potentially miss the rest of Alabama’s spring football camp. So, DeBoer refuses to take any further risks with Williams and is ensuring that he gets proper rest throughout this spring.

“We’re taking care of him. We know what we have there. He might not do much for the rest of the spring. There’s a couple of nicks and things like that, but if you asked him, he’d be out there, scrimmaging, he’s dressed up and ready to go. But we’re being really careful with some things he’s going through in the last week or so.” Now, this rains on all the excitement for the spring camp. DeBoer’s tight end room also caught a lucky break with injuries.

Crimson Tide tight end Josh Cuevas is widely expected to be their Week 1 starter as CJ Dippre and Robbie Ouzts have declared for the NFL Draft. Sadly, even that plan will not come to fruition. As the Alabama HC confirmed, “[Cuevas] will be good for the fall, but he’ll be done for the rest of the spring…And then [fellow Alabama tight end] Marshall Pritchett and Danny Lewis [will be out too]. Kaleb Edwards isn’t here yet (he’ll enroll in the summer).” Now, this must be giving DeBoer some bad flashbacks. 

That’s because, last season, Alabama had a tough time with defensive back Keon Sabb. The player missed the second half of last season as he suffered a foot injury against Tennessee. But here comes some good news, as Sabb is on the right track to return this fall. However, amidst all these updates, Williams’ news must be giving Bama fans sleepless nights. After all, the WR got tagged as the “best.”   

Analysts see superstar potential in Ryan Williams

The 2024 season saw Williams giving his best. However, at times, his talents got stunted because of the Alabama quarterback situation. The biggest example is the Tennessee game, where he got restricted to 9.1 average yards per reception yet managed to score a touchdown. As analyst Blake Ruffino pointed out, “He didn’t have a lot of help from his quarterback; he didn’t have a lot of help from a lot of people, and he still was able to be very productive…We didn’t see the full thing because of the inefficiency of their offense.” He then rounded it up by dishing out a sweet compliment for Williams.

“Ryan Williams, for me, is the best player in the SEC.” Not just Ruffino, analyst Clint Lamb, too, was all praise for DeBoer’s WR for adding that magical touch to the receivers room. “Ryan Williams is going to be kind of that alpha number one.” With his heart filled with all the sweet praises, the WR has been shooting for the stars. 

This March, the Alabama fans could not stop gushing over their former quarterback, Jalen Milroe, who made his alma mater proud with his pro-day performance. His official time was a 4.40, with a 1.44 10-yard split. This came off as a big surprise, given Milroe’s size and position. This sparked a hunger in Ryan Williams, leading the WR to playfully challenge Milroe and keep expectations high. “I would definitely beat 4.37.” Well, he had put some extra stress on the word “definitely.” But for now, Williams will have to hit the ‘PAUSE’ button.