The Alabama Crimson Tide didn’t have the start to the 2025 college football season that they were looking for, falling to unranked Florida State in what was the most shocking result of the weekend.
Now heading into Week 2 in what is expected to be a bounce-back game, the Crimson Tide got major news that drastically impacts their game plan against Louisiana-Monroe. According to Pete Thamel of ESPN, Alabama will be without star receiver Ryan Williams as he is still under concussion protocol.
“Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams is not expected to play against Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday as he works through the protocol from a concussion suffered against Florida State,” ESPN wrote. “Williams, a preseason Associated Press All-American, was helped off the field midway through the fourth quarter of the 31-17 loss last Saturday after his helmet slammed into the ground following his third dropped pass of the game.”
There was no targeting after review on the play.
In his freshman season at Alabama, Williams finished with 48 receptions for 865 yards and eight touchdowns, while winning First-Team All-SEC and Freshman All-American honors. He had five catches for 30 yards before leaving the game last week against the Seminoles in Week 1 before being ruled out with a concussion.
Alabama Without Williams
Though just a week through the college football season, Alabama fans are already disappointed, and the news of Williams now being ruled out doesn’t bode well for one of the most successful programs in the history of the sport.
Williams was one of the biggest offensive factors for the Crimson Tide last season, but is now starting his sophomore season with a concussion. However, DeBoer believes his absence will elevate more players in their wide receiver room.
“This week will be a little trickier with him getting limited opportunities,” DeBoer said. “But that’s going to allow someone else to step up and kind of continue to figure out the dynamics of how we feel with our receiving core and the people that should be out there.”
Williams’ five catches for 30 yards were the third-highest receiving total for Alabama in their Week 1 loss. Josh Cuevas had three catches for 31 yards and a touchdown, and Germie Bernard had a game-leading eight receptions for 146 yards.
One of the Tide’s other receivers, Isaiah Horton, left the game against Florida State with an injury, but expects to play against the Warhawks.
DeBoer Already On The Hot Seat
The Week 1 loss was perhaps most crucial for DeBoer, now in his second season leading Alabama after taking over for legendary head coach Nick Saban. DeBoer went a ‘disappointing’ 9-4 with the Crimson Tide last season, capped off with a loss to Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
Now in year two, DeBoer has already gotten off to a bad start with fans and boosters putting more pressure on the former Washington Huskies head coach. Speaking with boosters after the loss, DeBoer responded to questions about the direction of the program.
“I mean, my message is that… I think we’ve got a really good football team, I think we’ve got a good football team that can do some big things still this year,” DeBoer said. “We gotta prove it, we gotta go do it, and you know, to this point it’s been just been me being able to focus on football and, you know, I appreciate that.”
Saban coached the Tide for 17 seasons, losing just four total games to unranked opponents. DeBoer, just 14 games into his Alabama coaching tenure, has now also lost four games to unranked opponents.
With Williams now out and the pressure building on DeBoer, Alabama is a heavy favorite against Louisiana-Monroe. They will then host the Wisconsin Badgers in Week 3, before traveling to Athens to face the Georgia Bulldogs in what will be a decisive game for the program under DeBoer.
Alabama Get Bad News On Star WR As DeBoer Pressure Builds