TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Ryan Williams was already the talk of the college football world, but his heroics late Saturday night elevated his fame into the stratosphere.
The 17-year-old receiver caught the game-winning pass from Jalen Milroe, spinning and weaving his way past two Bulldogs to pull the Tide back from the edge of collapse against Georgia. His 177-yard performance was far-and-away the most of any Tide receiver.
“There was never really any pressure for me,” Williams said, citing the team’s preparation.
“He gave me an opportunity and I just made it… I caught it, I’m running and I was like ‘oh I can’t get tackled’ so I did a spin move and it was in like slow motion.”
“It was a little faster on the screen,” Williams added after the 41-34 win.
Saturday’s performance in his SEC debut added to an already stellar first season. Williams is averaging 115.5 yards per game and has accounted for 5 of the Tide’s touchdowns this season.
But he wasn’t the only true freshman that made an impact against the Bulldogs. Zabien Brown picked off Carson Beck’s pass in the endzone to seal the win.
“It’s crazy because we played NCAA last night and it was a close game, and he caught the game winning pick-six… Next thing you know, game winning interception,” Williams said.
Alabama blew the Bulldogs away in the first half, capitalizing off a struggling Beck to lead 30-7 heading into the locker room. The Georgia quarterback was just 8-17 passing at half and had thrown a pair of interceptions.
After the teams exchanged punts out of the locker room, Beck and the Bulldogs began their unthinkable comeback, taking the lead with a one-play 67-yard touchdown. Following a failed two-point conversion, Milroe connected for the game winner.
Milroe finished the game 27-33 for 374 yards through the air and added another 117 rushing. He accounted for 4 total touchdowns against Georgia in a stellar outing.
“When you face a really good football team, you know there’s gonna be a strong push,” said Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer.
The Crimson Tide offense was lethargic in the second half before William’s heroics — including a juggling circus-like catch that shouldn’t be missed. They scored just 11 points after halftime and were out-gained 366-192.
“They did a nice job converting on some fourth downs. I think that was really the story in that second half. We get one or two of those and really the game looks different,” DeBoer said.
Georgia was perfect on fourth down, going 5-5 on the night. Beck finished 27-50 for 439 yards passing. He had 3 touchdowns, but threw 3 interceptions on the night.
Alabama will head on the road to battle Vanderbilt on October 5. Kickoff is set for 3:15 p.m. CT.
