Is Ryan Williams Alabama’s best freshman ever? Here’s who he’s up against

A lot has been written about this website and elsewhere, on the otherworldly talents of freshman wide receiver Ryan Williams from Alabama, the 17-year-old phenom from Saraland who combines elite speed and ball skills with excellent ball skills. dancer’s movements and a nose for the end zone.

Through 10 games this season, Williams has caught 40 passes for 767 yards and 10 touchdowns and is averaging 19.7 yards per catch and 76.7 yards per game heading into Saturday night’s SEC contest at Oklahoma. He is a Biletnikoff Award semi-finalist — awarded annually to the nation’s top pass catcher — and is likely to be on various All-SEC and All-America teams by season’s end.

So how good was Williams’ season compared to the red-whites before him? You could argue that he is, or will be, the best freshman in Alabama program history when the season ends.

If we are going to make such a statement, we need to consider who the other candidates might be. Considering that freshmen were not eligible to play collegiately until 1972, this rules out much of the game’s early history.

And the evolution of pass rushes over the last 30-plus years—indeed, since Steve Spurrier’s Florida “Fun N’ Gun” offense revolutionized SEC football in the 1990s—has shown that many of the best pass catchers have fallen short (both in terms of production and opportunity). It will be from years. Additionally, Alabama’s level of success during the Nick Saban years means the Crimson Tide have more great receivers on their roster in the last two decades than at any point in school history.

However, two actors from the 20th century deserve special mention.

One of them is Ozzie Newsome, who starred as a split end for the Crimson Tide from 1974-77 (Newsome went on to become a Hall of Fame tight end in the NFL, but he was actually a wide receiver in college). As many readers know, Newsome played a wishbone offense in which throwing the ball was done either to catch the opposing defense off guard or when the offense was on third-and-long.

Newsome caught 20 passes for 374 yards (an average of 18.7 yards per catch) and a touchdown as a freshman in 1974. He added six catches for 68 yards in the Orange Bowl (bowl statistics were not counted in official records at the time). ).

These are modest numbers, of course, but it’s worth noting that Alabama has completed just 78 passes for 1,212 yards all season, including the bowl game (by comparison, the 2021 team has completed 380 passes for 5,073 yards). In other words, Newsome was responsible for nearly a third of the Crimson Tide’s receptions and more than a third (36%) of receiving yards in his freshman year.

Another notable name is David Palmer, one of the most exciting all-purpose players in Alabama history. As a freshman in 1991, “The Deuce” caught 17 passes for 314 yards (an average of 18.5 yards per catch) with three touchdowns.

Palmer’s contributions were not just as a receiver, as he lined up at various times as a quarterback and running back in addition to receiver. He returned four punts for touchdowns (including one in the Blockbuster Bowl, when he also caught a touchdown) and ran for the only touchdown in Alabama’s 13-6 Iron Bowl victory over Auburn.

Alabama was also the first, second and (mostly) third team under Gene Stallings in the early 1990s, but Palmer’s numbers would improve over time. As a junior in 1991, he recorded the first 1,000-yard receiving season in program history while finishing third in Heisman Trophy voting.

Apart from these warnings, there are actually four more candidates. Here they are in chronological order:

1. Julio Jones (2008)

Jones may be the best important A key player in Alabama football history, his toughness and work ethic helped transform the Crimson Tide program during Saban’s early years. Of course, he was also very good on the field; He caught 58 passes for 924 yards (15.9 yards per catch average) and four touchdowns in 14 games as a freshman in 2008.

2.Amari Cooper (2012)

The gold standard for being a dominant player from day one, Cooper helped lead Alabama to its second straight national title as a freshman in 2012. He caught 59 passes for 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns, averaging 71.4 yards per game in 14 games for the SEC champions. and 16.9 yards per catch. His touchdowns and yards per game are school records for freshmen (at least right now).

3. Calvin Ridley (2015)

Ridley picked up where Cooper left off three years later, catching 89 passes for 1,045 yards (both school records for freshmen) and seven touchdowns. His averages of 11.7 yards per catch and 69.7 yards per game were more modest, and it’s worth noting that he played one more game than Cooper and Jones. And due to some difficulties in his early lifehe too was 21 at the end of his freshman year, so he wasn’t a “freshman” in the traditional sense.

4. Jaylen Waddle (2018)

Evolutionary David Palmer contributed in many ways as a freshman despite a loaded receiver room that included Waddle, sophomores DeVonta Smith, Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs. In 15 games on a team that reached the national championship game, Waddle caught 45 passes for 848 yards (an average of 18.8 yards per catch) and seven touchdowns. He also averaged 14.6 yards on punt returns, including a touchdown.

Here’s the same list, in chart form and including Williams:

(If you’re wondering where 2020 Heisman Trophy winner Smith might be, he caught just eight passes for 160 yards as a freshman in 2017, but two of those were game-winning touchdowns against Mississippi State in the regular season and obviously against Georgia in overtime of the national championship game Smith is the best receiver in Alabama football history, but not the best. freshman buyer.)

Williams is already comparable to everyone else on this list, and of course he still has a few games to add to his raw numbers (and increase or decrease his “rate” stats). We know Alabama will play two more games in the regular season and at least one bowl game, so barring injuries, three more games are guaranteed. However, if the Crimson Tide reaches the SEC championship game, as they are currently on track for, that would mean 14 games (including the bowl). With the expanded College Football Playoff, Alabama has a chance to play up to 17 games this season.

Here are Williams’ stats for games 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17, assuming he stays at his current pace (which he probably won’t at one point or another):

Any of these statistical results could make an argument for Williams as the best freshman player in Alabama football history. As former Houston Oilers coach Bum Phillips said of All-Pro running back Earl Campbell, “he may not be in a class by himself, but it won’t take him long to make the list.”

Works at Creg Stephenson AL.com He has covered college football for various publications since 2010. Contact him since 1994. [email protected] or follow him on Twitter: @CregStephenson.