Jalen Milroe lit up the scenes at Bryant-Denny Stadium last year against Georgia and produced 374 passing and 117 rushing yards. His performance was undoubtedly breathtaking as the Crimson Tide won 41-34 against Kirby Smart’s Georgia. While Milroe had been the highlight of the game, earning a QB rating of 98.6 (ESPN), a freshman wide receiver quietly tiptoed in that game and averaged 29.5 yards per reception, totaling 177 yards. Ryan Williams from then on ascended the Bama WR room throne and notched up breathtaking performances throughout the season, stacking fan after fan. But this newfound fandom has shown its dark side now.

In total, the wide receiver received 865 yards, averaging 18 yards per reception, and became probably the most hyped wide receiver due to his freshman talent after Jeremiah Smith. While on one hand, Kalen DeBoer’s season had its fair share of scrutiny, Ryan Williams’ performances were a breath of fresh air. His fandom has now reached its peak, and he has garnered 735,000 followers on Instagram. However, this newfound fandom has now forced the WR to apologize.

Williams was recently the victim of an internet scam, where a scammer made a fake account in his name and defrauded his IG followers. The fake account already had more than 15,000 followers and strangely resembled Ryan’s original IG account. The wide receiver quickly took note of this and posted a warning on his IG story to report the account and apologized to the fans who would have been scammed. “Report this account, it is not me. I apologize if you’ve been scammed,” wrote Ryan Williams.

The apology says a lot about the connection the WR has made to the Bama fans. For instance, after that Georgia game, the social media erupted in the 17-year-old’s praise. His acrobatic spin move that he executed perfectly to rush towards the endzone became an overnight sensation. Additionally, even after the season ended, Williams was praised for his maturity and poise all over the season. All of this fandom has led to Williams being on the cover of the College Football 2026 video game.

EA Sports just released the cover of their upcoming College Football Video game that features Ryan Williams and Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith. It’s a rare feat for a sophomore who once was a 2025 commit and believed himself to reclassify to 2024. The decision’s rewards are apparent now, and Ryan Williams termed the rare video game feat, “This is for every kid in Mobile dreaming big.” While Williams is basking in his recent feat, he also recognized one of his fellow 2024 class players and praised him.

Ryan Williams downgrades Jeremiah Smith’s EA Sports CFB 26 ratings?

Ryan Williams sat in the 28th May episode of the New Wave Podcast with Jeremiah Smith and was all in praise of OSU wide receiver. The interview started leaning towards the ratings all the players have got in the upcoming CFB video game, and Ryan Williams, while impressed with Jeremiah Smith, still placed himself above the OSU WR  in some aspects.

“Overall 95. Speed, it can’t be higher than mine, so we’re going to say 96, 97,” Williams said of Jeremiah Smith. But the Bama sensation then picked Smith’s best traits and speculated what their ratings would be. “Strength, if mine was a 62, he got to be about 80. I had seen some crazy stuff. So yeah, about a 75, 80.” Smith patiently listened to Williams, then finally remarked.

“Overall 95, 96. Speed, I’m going to go 97, 98, Strength, 65,” commented Jeremiah Smith about Williams’speed and strength compared to his. The interview showed the mutual respect both players have for each other, and seeing them together discussing the ball side by side was nothing short of a treat.