What Ryan Williams Learned from DeVonta Smith Should Terrify SEC Cornerbacks
When Alabama 5-star wide receiver commit Ryan Williams talks about football IQ and work ethic, one name keeps coming up: DeVonta Smith — the Heisman-winning legend and Crimson Tide icon. And what Williams has learned from watching and studying Smith should send shivers down the spines of SEC defensive backs.
Williams, the top-ranked wide receiver in the 2025 class, has openly modeled parts of his game after Smith. But it goes far beyond route running. In recent interviews and film breakdowns, Williams emphasized how much he’s studied Smith’s ability to create separation without relying solely on speed, a trait that has already made Williams nearly unguardable at the high school level.
“DeVonta was never the biggest or strongest, but he was always open,” Williams said. “That’s what I want to be — a technician, not just an athlete.”
Standing at 6’1″, Williams may not have Smith’s exact build, but he’s got blazing speed, elite hands, and — most importantly — a developing understanding of how to manipulate defenders with timing, leverage, and deceptive movement. That football intelligence, combined with his athleticism, gives him the potential to be the next great receiver in Alabama’s pipeline.
His offseason focus has included releasing faster off the line, improving mid-route deception, and mastering change-of-pace movement, all traits Smith weaponized at Alabama and now uses with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Williams will arrive in Tuscaloosa with a skill set far beyond his years. And if SEC corners were hoping to bully a young freshman? Think again. He’s coming in refined, focused, and already drawing comparisons to one of the most lethal receivers in recent memory.
Translation: SEC secondaries — you’ve been warned.
