"I can't get tackled," he said late Saturday night.
In the open field, few defenders have tackled Alabama's dynamic freshman wide receiver, and it was his 75-yard touchdown catch -- complete with an electrifying spin move and dash to the end zone -- that helped No. 4 Alabama hold on for a thrilling 41-34 win over No. 2 Georgia at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
In real time, Williams joked the spin move felt as if were "in slow motion." But when he watched it on the stadium's video screen, he said it looked a little faster.
"I just had to do my part in helping us finish that game," Williams said. "We'd come too far. Somebody had to make a play."
In a game the Crimson Tide once led 28-0, they suddenly found themselves trailing 34-33 with a little more than two minutes left after a furious Georgia rally. Williams and quarterback Jalen Milroe didn't waste any time answering. On first down, Milroe delivered the pass right where he wanted to, on Williams' back shoulder. Once he gathered it in, Williams did a pirouette around Georgia defensive back Julian Humphrey and left a vapor trail down the right sideline.
"Man, when I first saw him, he was this skinny kid," Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell said. "Then you got him on the practice field, and he's been doing things like that ever since. That's just who he is."
As in the most dynamic true freshman in college football.
Through four games, Williams has caught five touchdown passes and is averaging 28.9 yards per catch. He also had an incredible 54-yard bobbling catch in the third quarter against Georgia to set up a field goal.
"He's only going to get better, and the best thing about him is that he's always working, always doing something to become a better player, the work in the dark that not everyone sees," said Milroe, who passed for 374 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns.
Campbell said the poise on the Alabama sideline, starting with coach Kalen DeBoer, was never more apparent than in those final minutes when Georgia roared all the way back to take the lead after trailing 30-7 at the half.
"That's the standard at Alabama, and it just filters down to the players, to everybody," Campbell said.
As the Alabama offense trotted back onto the field, Williams said he didn't need to nudge Milroe or even give a quick wave to his quarterback once Williams lined up for the play. Yes, he wanted the ball and knew Milroe would find a way to get it to him.
"Nah, I ain't got to be a mailbox. He knows what's up," said Williams, who finished with six catches for 177 yards and now has six catches of 40 yards or longer on the season.
Clearly, there's a budding connection between Milroe and Williams.
"He knows four plus two equals six," Williams said, referring to Milroe's number and his number, respectively. "I know four plus two equals six. The ball's just got to go in the air."
Even so, this is rare air for someone Williams' age. He's only 17 and doesn't turn 18 until Feb. 9. He wasn't even born when Nick Saban was named Alabama's coach in 2007.
With Saban watching from his suite, as Alabama beat Georgia for the ninth time in the past 10 meetings, Williams was only one of two freshmen who helped the Crimson Tide continue their mastery of Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs.
Alabama's Thrilling Comeback Win
The Crimson Tide led for most of the game and dominated the first half to take a 28-0 lead early in the second quarter. Bulldogs quarterback Carson Beck threw two interceptions.
Alabama went into halftime with a 30-7 lead, but then the game turned on its head in the second half. Georgia cut the deficit to 33-15 heading into the fourth quarter, scoring three unanswered touchdowns to take a 34-33 lead with just 2:31 remaining in the game.
On the very next offensive play, Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe found freshman star wide receiver Ryan Williams for a 75-yard touchdown to regain the lead. Williams still had lots of work to do, spinning to avoid the defense and dashing into the end zone.
“I just had to do my part in helping us finish that game,” the 17-year-old said afterwards, per ESPN. “We’d come too far. Somebody had to make a play.”
Beck led the Bulldogs down the field but threw his third interception of the game in the endzone as Alabama clung on to win and improve to 4-0. Georgia falls to 3-1.
Other Notable College Football Action
Elsewhere, Arch Manning, the nephew of Peyton and Eli, impressed in No. 1 Texas’ 35-13 win over Mississippi State, the Longhorns’ first SEC win.
Despite Texas making several mistakes, including committing eight penalties on offense, an assured Manning – who was 26-of-31 for 324 yards and two touchdowns – and a solid defensive performance guided the team to 5-0.
In Oxford, meanwhile, the Kentucky Wildcats stunned No. 6 Ole Miss 20-17 in the program’s highest-ranked road win since 1977 and just their fifth ever win over a top-six ranked team.
The Cats stifled the high-octane Ole Miss offense – much to the visible frustration of Rebels coach Lane Kiffin – and then, on their final drive, converted a huge fourth down from deep in their own territory and marched all the way to the end zone to take a 20-17 lead.
Ole Miss had time to mount a drive of its own, but Rebels kicker Caden Davis hooked a 48-yard game-tying attempt wide left.
“Just a hard-fought, tough game,” coach Mark Stoops told reporters afterward. “Just proud of our coaches for staying the course … We’ve gotten better each week … Couldn’t be more proud of the effort. I know it’s one game but it’s important because of the work that’s been going in for a long time.”
No. 12 Michigan seemed to be cruising to victory against Minnesota, holding a 24-3 lead after the third quarter, but the Golden Gophers produced a late fight back before the Wolverines held on to win 27-24.
In front of 110,340 spectators, Michigan raced into a commanding lead as their defense forced two turnovers, recorded four sacks and eight tackles for loss and blocked a punt.
But Minnesota rallied for three touchdowns in the fourth quarter until its late charge was halted by a controversial penalty with 1:40 remaining, as Michigan was bailed out by an offside call against the Gophers.
Alabama's Young Stars Make a Big Impact
Milroe laughed when asked what it said about Alabama's program that two true freshmen would make such a big impact in a top-five matchup.
"Recruiting," Milroe said, chuckling. "Nah, one thing I can say about those guys is they work really hard, and I'm all about a guy working in the dark. I see them working on their craft after practice. I see them communicating, and they do a really good job constantly of trying to build and acknowledging that they're not a finished product.
"I think that's so important for our football team, just to keep on climbing."
DeBoer and the Alabama staff worked overtime to land Williams, who was ESPN's No. 3 overall prospect in the 2024 signing class. Williams had been committed to the Crimson Tide but decommitted right after Saban retired.
DeBoer said he has been impressed by how good Williams is after the catch.
"He's doing it over and over again, getting the ball in his hands and making people miss and getting a lot of yards after contact," DeBoer said.
Milroe added: "It's what we do from here that matters, building on this. What we're seeing now is all the work we put in this offseason, the way the coaches believed in us and then some of the younger guys we brought in. Just got to keep growing, all of us."
