Alabama Wide Receiver Coach Says Offense Isn't Forcing Ball to Ryan Williams

The Crimson Tide's leading receiver was targeted 18 times in the loss to Tennessee.

Oct 19, 2024; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide wide receiver Ryan Williams (2) reacts after a play against the Tennessee Volunteers during the first quarter at Neyland Stadium. / Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Alabama freshman wide receiver Ryan Williams was officially targeted 18 times in the Crimson Tide's 24-17 loss at Tennessee. It was the most targets any Alabama receiver has had in a game this season, and quarterback Jalen Milroe had his highest number of attempts in a game in his career with 45 attempts.

Despite the high number of targets, Alabama wide receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard wanted to clear some things up on Wednesday.

"I think that we distributed the ball to where it should’ve been going all week long, all throughout the game," Shephard said. "That’s where the ball should’ve been going. If it was supposed to go somewhere else, it would’ve went somewhere else. That’s not us designing every play to try to get the ball to one single person. If that’s where the ball’s supposed to go, that’s where it went. I think our guys did a good job of making sure the ball went where it was supposed to go.”

Germie Bernard, Kendrick Law and Williams were the only wide receivers to catch passes against Tennessee. Running backs Jam Miller (one catch) and Justice Haynes (six targets, five catches) were also involed in the passing game, and tight end CJ Dippre had two catches on four targets.

Through seven games, Williams leads Alabama and is second in the SEC with 649 receiving yards and seven touchdowns on 31 receptions. As Alabama's best receiver, Williams is often in double coverage from opposing defenses, but he also was open on many of the targets from Milroe. Sometimes the throw wasn't accurate, and sometimes Williams wasn't able to haul it in.

" Milroe did not force the ball anywhere," Shephard said. "We’re not forcing it anywhere. Let’s change that narrative right now. That did not happen. Young man just has to continue to fight and use great technique to be able to find ways to get even more separation... The kid did a great job of finding ways to separate from the defenders throughout the game.”

The Alabama offense will be challenged this weekend facing a Missouri squad this weekend that's 10th in scoring defense (15.6 points per game) and ninth in passing defense (157.6 yards per game.) Williams has scored a touchdown in six of Alabama's first seven games and is averaging over 92 yards per game. Bernard is the next-closest receiver with 381 yards, and then there's a big dropoff until it gets to Kobe Prentice with eight catches for 107 yards.

Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan was asked earlier in the week about getting Prentice and Law more involved in the offense.

"We’re always looking at utilizing all of the personnel that we have and how we can best put our players in a position to be successful," Sheridan said. "That’s for every position. Who can give us the best chance of winning, practices the best. I think both those guys are really talented players. I know they’re gonna have big moments for us here down the stretch. I think, not just those two in particular, but all the guys, we need everybody to continue to progress, continue to learn, continue to grow so that we can utilize them all here down the stretch."

Alabama's offense has shown signs of regression the last few games, but Saturday's matchup against No. 21 Missouri is a critical game for keeping the team's College Football Playoff chances alive.

Read more: How to Watch: No. 15 Alabama Football vs. No. 21 Missouri, Week 9 College Football TV Schedule

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