Saraland junior wide receiver Ryan Williams, one of Alabama high school football’s most electrifying players the last two seasons, made headlines last week when he announced his decision to reclassify to the 2024 class and forego his senior season.
Williams, who was considered one of the nation’s top prospects in the 2025 cycle, was a major impact player for a Saraland team that averaged 46.2 PPG over the last two seasons. While helping lead the Spartans to back-to-back Class 6A state title games, Williams ranked among Alabama’s leading receivers with 160 receptions for 2,965 yards and 43 touchdowns. He made a key impact in the running game as well, logging 87 carries for 961 yards and 22 TDs during that span.
In 2022 Williams had 88 receptions for 1,641 yards and 24 touchdowns, as well as 57 carries for 700 yards and 15 more scores, as Saraland won the 6A state championship. As one-half of arguably the state’s top QB/WR duo – alongside four-star Texas commit KJ Lacey – Williams received multiple postseason honors that season, including being the first sophomore to be named Mr. Football by the Alabama Sports Writers Association.
For an encore as a junior this past season, Williams helped lead Saraland to a 6A state runner-up finish, amassing 72 receptions for 1,324 yards and 19 touchdowns in 14 games. Williams also rushed for 261 yards and 7 touchdowns on 30 attempts, and he put the final touches on his Saraland career in impressive fashion against Clay-Chalkville in the state title game, accounting for more than 300 all-purpose yards and 3 touchdowns.
Williams scored at least one touchdown in all but three games over the past two seasons. He also compiled 13 games of 100+ receiving yards, including two of 200+ yards, in that span.
Now that he’s reclassified, Williams is rated as the nation’s No. 12 overall player in the 2024 class according to the 247Sports Composite. The five-star is also the No. 4 wide receiver nationally, where he joins fellow in-state prospects Cam Coleman and Perry Thompson in the Top 10. He remains committed to Alabama, as he has been since October of 2022.
Whether he ends up in Tuscaloosa or at another school next fall, Williams is likely to be a true difference maker on the field – exactly as he was during his high school playing days at Saraland.
