Why we use Jameson Williams to return Kickoff

[Cruiser]

I can think of two reasons off the top of my head...

Speed and SPEED!

 

[TIDE-HSV]

If you look at our special teams, you'll see they're packed with starters, not just Williams...

 

[Ole Man Dan]

As fans we worry about these things. As players and coaches, they don't.

Williams is not just in on returns, he is also in on special teams defense. He knows that special teams play can take a guy from a day 2 draft pick to a 1st rounder. He is trying to have an impact wherever he can because he knows that it increases his value at the next level. Are we really going to tell him that he can't do that anymore because of our fears?

Not only is Williams increasing his value in the Pro's, he is increasing prospects for Endorsement Money right now.

 

[RammerJammer15]

Think about it, if we don’t use our best players on special teams, we may have not beaten Clemson in 2016.

 

[B1GTide]

FWIW, Alabama's special teams ranked #2 in the nation.

 

[theballguy]

Last year we lost Waddle in the middle of the season. Every Smitty's return later gave me a heart attack. I like Jameson's versatility. Yet do we have to put our No.1 receiver into this dangerous situation?

If I was a fan of a team that only had one or two playmakers at most, I'd be paranoid too. But, we lost Waddle and we were completely fine. We've lost a lot of other players in seasons too and we were completely fine. Not worried. I think Nick Saban has a handle on things.

 

[tusks_n_raider]

Because he's the best player for the position and he's a threat to take one to the house every time he touches the ball.

12 Recs for 299 yards at 24.92 YPC (5th NCAA) w/ 3 TD's

5 KR's for 228 yards at 45.60 YPR (1st NCAA)w/ 2 TD's

 

[Bam Bam]

This has got to be a troll, right? After that game... No sane person would actually think this.

 

[TideMan09]

Because there's only a limited amount of touches our playmakers get in a game & we need Jameson get as many touches as possible as we defend our NC..

 

[DogPatch]

This has got to be a troll, right? After that game... No sane person would actually think this.

A lot of coaches (at the highest levels) don't believe in putting starters as KR or PR. It's neither trollish nor insane. While you can point to the 2 TDs vs. USM, they will point to Waddle's injury vs. UT. Just a difference in philosophy.

 

[Padreruf]

Because there's only a limited amount of touches our playmakers get in a game & we need Jameson get as many touches as possible as we defend our NC..

Because he is really, really, really fast...

 

[rolltd]

Why? Because we like TD's

 

[CajunCrimson]

I find it hard to believe that there are 4-5 better receivers at tOSU than Jameson.

 

[tusks_n_raider]

I find it hard to believe that there are 4-5 better receivers at tOSU than Jameson.

Well there's not 4-5 who are better but there are 3 others that are just as good if not maybe better...

Garret Wilson: 23 Rec's for 391 Yards (17.00 YPC) and 3 TD's

Jaxon Smith-Njigba: 16 Rec's for 283 Yards (17.69 YPC) and 3 TD's

Chris Olave: 18 Rec's for 255 Yards (14.17 YPC) and 3 TD's

That's not bad at all from a WR group that is breaking in a New QB

My impression is that Jameson wanted the chance to be an outright #1-2 WR and Alabama was the chance to get that opportunity while there is a logjam at tOSU and he would have almost definitely been behind Olave and Wilson.

That being said though I'm glad he decided to come to Alabama because he has met our need for a Deep Threat bigtime.

 

[Windsortide]

The man is explosive

 

[crimsonaudio]

I find it hard to believe that there are 4-5 better receivers at tOSU than Jameson.

It's not even necessarily that he wasn't going to be a starter - it could be that he saw an opportunity to play at Bama and preferred it after seeing what the QB situation looked like post-Fields.

 

[buckeyeFB_]

Well there's not 4-5 who are better but there are 3 others that are just as good if not maybe better...

Garret Wilson: 23 Rec's for 391 Yards (17.00 YPC) and 3 TD's

Jaxon Smith-Njigba: 16 Rec's for 283 Yards (17.69 YPC) and 3 TD's

Chris Olave: 18 Rec's for 255 Yards (14.17 YPC) and 3 TD's

That's not bad at all from a WR group that is breaking in a New QB

My impression is that Jameson wanted the chance to be an outright #1-2 WR and Alabama was the chance to get that opportunity while there is a logjam at tOSU and he would have almost definitely been behind Olave and Wilson.

That being said though I'm glad he decided to come to Alabama because he has met our need for a Deep Threat bigtime.

Very well said.

Jameson Williams would have absolutely been the 4th best receiver on our roster behind only those 3 guys (definitely not 4-5 receivers better than him).

And honestly, Smith-Njigba is a different type of player than Jamo, so it's not even necessarily accurate to say Smith-Njigba is flat-out "better" than Jamo. Smith-Njigba is the perfect slot/possession/do-a-little-bit-of-everything receiver, while Jamo is an outside receiver with elite speed who's more of a big-play threat.

We just have Olave and Wilson as outside receivers, which is the ONLY reason Jamo wouldn't have "started" (he still would've played quite a bit).

Another thing I think probably went into Jamo's decision to leave that has nothing to do with our other receivers is how much Ryan Day & Kevin Wilson like using 2-TE sets. That automatically takes 2 receivers off the field, so playing time for the receivers gets slashed a little bit by default.

Jamo made the best decision for himself in his situation. I'm happy he's doing so well right now, and I'm also happy to see how much the Bama fanbase loves him!

 

[Dralor]

Very well said.

Jameson Williams would have absolutely been the 4th best receiver on our roster behind only those 3 guys (definitely not 4-5 receivers better than him).

And honestly, Smith-Njigba is a different type of player than Jamo, so it's not even necessarily accurate to say Smith-Njigba is flat-out "better" than Jamo. Smith-Njigba is the perfect slot/possession/do-a-little-bit-of-everything receiver, while Jamo is an outside receiver with elite speed who's more of a big-play threat.

We just have Olave and Wilson as outside receivers, which is the ONLY reason Jamo wouldn't have "started" (he still would've played quite a bit).

Another thing I think probably went into Jamo's decision to leave that has nothing to do with our other receivers is how much Ryan Day & Kevin Wilson like using 2-TE sets. That automatically takes 2 receivers off the field, so playing time for the receivers gets slashed a little bit by default.

Jamo made the best decision for himself in his situation. I'm happy he's doing so well right now, and I'm also happy to see how much the Bama fanbase loves him!

Not only that but there are 2 number 1 in the nation WR's on the bench and Marvin Harrison Jr. And a highly recruited recevier in Gee Scott JR who switched to TE just to try to get on the field.

He's probably 3rd or 4th on the depth chart but 3rd or 4th gets 2-3 targets a game. Now knowing him they would probably be bombs but he was really hoping Olave would leave and he'd have a chance at being the number 2 if not the number 1. It didn't happen. He saw an opputunity to become that at Bama and took it. No one faults him for that though we might grumble that he went to making bama better than some team that's not a threat.

The one thing I will say that's the same thing I said when Wilson was in the game returning punts when we were up 28 or whatver. Is I don't like him being in there that late on the 2nd he housed. Let some frosh or sophmore with speed to burn take it then risk injury in what is already a blowout.

 

[crimsonaudio]

The one thing I will say that's the same thing I said when Wilson was in the game returning punts when we were up 28 or whatver. Is I don't like him being in there that late on the 2nd he housed. Let some frosh or sophmore with speed to burn take it then risk injury in what is already a blowout.

I generally agree, but I think the reason the starters were in for so long was because they need game reps together - most of our offense are new starters this year, so they've little playing time as a unit. It would suck to see someone hurt when Bama's up by four TD's, but I trust that Saban is doing it for the betterment of the team, not just letting the men play or RUTS (which isn't his style).

 

[dtgreg]

While I get it, we lost Donta Hightower, Vinnie Sunseri, and Eddie Jackson in the middle of the season, too, and others I'm sure if I sat and thought for a moment would come to mind. We once lost Jay Barker with several games remaining. We lost Brodie Croyle early in a season, too.

What are we gonna say? What's Saban gonna say?

"Hey, look Jameson, I know you do the best job, but I'd rather risk losing someone else" (gee, try explaining THAT one to the backup - "hey, if you get hurt, it's not that big a deal").

It's a delicate compromise. We can all agree the Prothro injury was next level stupid while allotting for other staff. Wasn't Waddle hurt on the opening kickoff? Not like he was returning the kick in a 45-0 blowout.

Also Joe Namath against a hapless NC State. I think it was a freak, non-contact injury, rolling out to pass.