We think it is safe to say that Ryan Williams is the saving grace Kalen DeBoer and Co. needed. This 17-year-old dude has been nothing but explosive. Ryan Williams has managed to make plays that most WRs could only dream of. Williams could be the next Travis Hunter of CFB, and nothing was stopping him. While Bama is coming off of a surprising loss against Vanderbilt, one thing any Tide fan would still appreciate is Williams’ being part of the roster.

And to think that this almost didn’t happen. In the latest post shared on Instagram by Newwave Show, it was revealed that Williams almost committed to a completely different team. “Ryan Williams reveals he almost committed to Texas A&M over Alabama,” the post mentioned. Boy, oh boy, this would’ve been a major blow to the Crimson Tide and Kalen DeBoer as well. Williams had mentioned on the Newwave show, “Wiggs almost had me”.

His entire reason to suddenly de-commit from Alabama was Holmon Wiggins. The Co-offensive coordinator and WR coach for the Aggies almost managed to grab Williams and make him a part of the Texas roster. However, lucky for DeBoer, Williams decided to flip and stick to the Tide.

Ever since the 2024 season started, everyone has fallen more in love with Williams. His heart-winning performance against Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs was what sealed the deal regarding him being the next prodigy in the WR class.

While his stunts were a miss during the Vanderbilt showdown, Ryan Williams still managed to sneak in a touchdown during the latter half of the game and almost gave the Dores a good fright. Switching back to the present, whatever Williams has managed to get done till now has affected him in ways that even he doesn’t realize.

Ryan Williams is soaring the NIL sky

Back on October 3rd, On3 Recruits brought up an interesting discussion regarding the recent changes to the NIL valuation of Ryan Williams. NIL expert Pete Nakos mentioned, “His performance, particularly against Georgia, combined with social media buzz, has driven his valuation up.” To merely that his valuation has gone up would be an understatement.

If we look at the numbers; before the Georgia game, Williams stood at a comfortable $765,000 valuation. After Bama managed to turn things around thanks to Williams’ last-minute touchdown, this dude’s valuation rocketed up to  $1.5 million. Not only that, Williams also managed to garner 160K new followers across his social media accounts.

The hype was so big that even Talladega Superspeedway tapped into the 17-year-old’s newfound fame to promote the NASCAR Playoffs. “Time is running out to get your tickets & experience epic #NASCARPlayoffs action at one of @nascar’s most iconic tracks,” Talladega mentioned on their post with Ryan Williams on the cover. This opens whole new doors for Williams and his future. Let’s hope this guy makes it to the top.