What's going on with Ryan Williams?

[justinkjones1993]

He was barely in the game last Saturday. Stood on the sideline emotionless.

Is he injured and we don't know about it? About to transfer? Something else going on? I just get a weird feeling about it.

 

[gtgilbert]

If I had to guess, he was demoted to 2nd team. Too many drops through the season, especially with Brooks being a better fit as a slot guy than Williams is.

Hopefully we can keep him and slide him back to an outside spot where he's a much better fit next year

 

[BamaMoon]

Last time we saw him he was dropping another TD pass in the EZ against EIU.

If he can't handle that can he handle the barn or Georgia or a playoff team?

This may be the worst version of a sophomore slump I've ever seen.

And, no it would not surprise me to see him transfer.

 

[squib]

He is misplaced in the slot. He needs to be on the outside and away from the midfield traffic. He is not built for the banging around that happens to slot receivers. That said, he needs to catch what is thrown his way.

There are likely already multiple teams reaching out to him how they will feature him in his more natural position.

 

[Power Eye]

I have no issue with Ryan Williams other than he has not played well this year. I think his issues can be easily corrected if he would just get focused. Therefore, I hope he stays because he has all the talent in the world. With that said, his strengths don't line up great with the style of offense we play. He is special with the ball after the catch and making great catches on deep throws. He is not a great route runner, doesn't block well and doesn't want to go across the middle. Things that a receiver in this offense has to be.

 

[arthurdawg]

I have no issue with Ryan Williams other than he has not played well this year. I think his issues can be easily corrected if he would just get focused. Therefore, I hope he stays because he has all the talent in the world. With that said, his strengths don't line up great with the style of offense we play. He is special with the ball after the catch and making great catches on deep throws. He is not a great route runner, doesn't block well and doesn't want to go across the middle. Things that a receiver in this offense has to be.

Thanks for defining what I've felt... He is a guy who is best one on one with a corner downfield. He just doesn't have the physicality and desire for our offense.

 

[El Duderino]

Ryan excels on the outside with the long ball. Everyone knows that. Ty Simpson is not much of a long ball guy. He excels on the mid passes, so there is definitely a natural disconnect between those two. I hope he sticks around next year and gets the targets and catches we all know he is capable of.

 

[davefrat]

I don't say this to bash the young man at all because they are things that may be largely out of his control to a certain extent, but he seems kind of fragile both in physical as well as mental/emotional terms.

Someone else mentioned that maybe he should not have reclassified and stayed in high school another year.

Whatever the issues, he's pretty much disappeared in terms of productivity.

He was barely on the field at Auburn and his body language on the sideline was not encouraging.

Hopefully he gets things worked out and hopefully here.

 

[lowend]

If he's catching everything thrown his way producing then he can snuggle his teddy bear and paint his nails all he wants. Until then, cut out the mess and do your best to not give the fan base a reason to doubt you.

 

[AlistarWills]

Personally I feel like he’s let a lot of outside stuff creep in because of his celebrity from the jump. And it’s eaten away at his prep and caused his game to decline. I feel like if he’d turn off the Internet and absorb himself in the football complex, he can go back to being an otherworldly talent. He’s having to learn to play big boy football where you can’t outrun or outjuke everybody. He is a severe mismatch across the middle but is gonna get hit and has to accept that and prepare to take it. The NFL isn’t in his future if he can’t.

 

[Ledsteplin]

Nothing is going on with Ryan. May have seen him more if Ty had thrown more long passes. But the blitzing sort of stopped that.

 

[TideEngineer08]

I think he’s mismatched in this offense. Someone on X pointed out how J. Smith-Njigba’s production exploded this year for Seattle. Grubb had him in the slot last year. He’s playing out wide mostly this year.

The drops are probably due to the mental factors of being out of position.

 

[BamaHoopsBoi]

If he caught half of the balls that he's dropped so far, we wouldn't even be having this conversation.

However, his body language and overall mood on the team seems entirely different from last year. He was the huge name, now he is hardly mentioned at all. You can't tell me a teenager would not be affected by that.

Just hope we can find a way to keep him, and for less money.

 

[NoNC4Tubs]

Williams isn't a slot WR. He needs to be put back outside at his natural position...

 

[Cruloc]

Just from what I can see....

He's had some huge drops. He doesnt catch with his hands. And he doesnt look like he blocks well. He also doesnt look like he runs crisp routes.

 

[4Q Basket Case]

The drops strike me as the main issue. If he doesn't run routes well, doesn't like to block, wants to avoid contact and drops the ball a lot, I'm not sure a position change will help all that much. If he doesn't get that stuff corrected, he won't last through preseason camp in the NFL.

My inside information is exactly zero. But given this year's performance -- especially in the second half of the season -- and the body language on the sideline in the barn, I expect a transfer. Either following Shephard to OSUw or possibly to Kiffin at LSU.

I'd bet a lot of money that both are already in his ear.

If he does transfer, it'll be some bad publicity. But it won't be all bad for us. It would free up a lot of pay-for-play money and remove what has to have become a distraction for the players and coaches. And costs us a player who, despite incredible potential, has unreliable hands and just hasn't performed all that well.

 

[Tideflyer]

Last time we saw him he was dropping another TD pass in the EZ against EIU.

If he can't handle that can he handle the barn or Georgia or a playoff team?

This may be the worst version of a sophomore slump I've ever seen.

And, no it would not surprise me to see him transfer.

This day and age? Probably gone. Agree he’s most likely heard from Kiffin.

 

[Cruloc]

The drops strike me as the main issue. If he doesn't run routes well, doesn't like to block, wants to avoid contact and drops the ball a lot, I'm not sure a position change will help all that much. If he doesn't get that stuff corrected, he won't last through preseason camp in the NFL.

My inside information is exactly zero. But given this year's performance -- especially in the second half of the season -- and the body language on the sideline in the barn, I expect a transfer. Either following Shephard to OSUw or possibly to Kiffin at LSU.

I'd bet a lot of money that both are already in his ear.

If he does transfer, it'll be some bad publicity. But it won't be all bad for us. It would free up a lot of pay-for-play money and remove what has to have become a distraction for the players and coaches. And costs us a player who, despite incredible potential, has unreliable hands and just hasn't performed all that well.

I'd be willing to bet Kiffin is in Russell's ear as well as Williams.

I know when Williams is on the field, I don't trust him. I expect him to get killed attempting a half hearted block. He's going to jump to catch a ball instead of using is hands.

Horton is better.
Bernard is better.
Brooks is coming along.
Adams is reliable on the kicks.

 

[crimsonaudio]

Two things:
1- he's not a slot player - he lacks the physicality (and the desire)
2- he's still young, mentally.

Both can be fixed, the first easier than the second, but until he stops dropping passes that hit him in the hands he's likely to see the field less and less.

 

[bamaga]

If I had to guess, he was demoted to 2nd team. Too many drops through the season, especially with Brooks being a better fit as a slot guy than Williams is.

Hopefully we can keep him and slide him back to an outside spot where he's a much better fit next year

Brooks had several bad plays Saturday.