AL.com's Ainslie Lee believes the hope for Auburn football is that not landing Ryan Williams won't overshadow the stellar Freeze Four they did land (Cameron Coleman, Perry Thompson, Bryce Cain, and Malcolm Simmons).
"And with his commitment on Wednesday, the hope is that fans of the other programs that were pursuing Williams don’t take to social media to try and take any of what he’s done and the prospect of what he could do away from him — just because he ended up landing at a different program than what they wanted him to," Lee wrote.
"In that same vein and in the case of Auburn, the hope is that not landing Williams doesn’t overshadow what the Tigers did land in Coleman, Thompson, Cain and Simmons — four guys who Freeze and Auburn’s coaching staff are excited to have in the fold."
Unfortunately, there's been a bit of the former of the two paths on social media, but fortunately, none of the latter from Auburn social media posters. With so many mouths to feed in AU's offense and a potential emphasis on the run with the Derrick Nix hiring, Williams may be better off growing his legend in Tuscaloosa as one of the few who wouldn't ditch the post-Nick Saban retirement sinking ship.
Alabama offense deemed better fit for Ryan Williams than Auburn football and anyone else
Michael Penix Jr. filled in the Tuscaloosa News' Nick Kelly about how high-powered Kalen DeBoer and Ryan Grubb's offensive system is, leading to the reporter claiming that there's no better fit for Williams than Alabama before he ultimately landed with the Tide.
"Alabama is one of many programs vying for his services, and Auburn is right up there too," Kelly prefaced before saying, "But if insight from Penix and other players is any indication, Williams might not find a better offense than the Crimson Tide's under new coach Kalen DeBoer and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. In back-to-back years, 2022 and 2023, Penix had two 1,000-yard receivers each season."
With an exodus of receivers, most notably Isaiah Bond, and tight end Amari Niblack, Williams will certainly have his opportunities in Alabama's attack. Let's see how DeBoer and Grubb's system hold up against SEC defenses.