2025 Preseason Herbie Awards: Ryan Williams wins Take It to the House honor

As a 17-year-old freshman last year, Ryan Williams electrified college football with his playmaking ability. He’ll look to take another leap forward at Alabama in 2025, and Kirk Herbstreit has high expectations.

Williams won the Take It to the House award during the Preseason Herbie Awards on Friday. The former highly rated recruit was a key piece of the Alabama offense a season ago and will try to continue that success with a new quarterback in Ty Simpson.

Williams led Alabama in receiving yards last year as a top target for Jalen Milroe. One of the top receivers in the sport, Herbstreit sees big things ahead for him, especially with new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb at the controls.

“With Ryan Grubb, I think he’ll find different ways of moving him around instead of just putting him in one spot,” Herbstreit said on the show. “Second year of playing college football, second chance to go through the SEC. I think he now has a greater expectation. Very skinny, just raw. What’d he play at, 17 years old last year? He’s now only 18.

“But he had a chance to get bigger, understanding of the offense, understanding of the competition. Just want to see instead of those one or two like, ‘Wow, did you see that?’ [Would] love to see him do it every single week.”

Williams was Alabama’s leading receiver last year, hauling in 48 receptions for 865 yards and eight touchdowns. He also took four carries for 48 yards and two touchdowns as part of the running game.

One of the biggest names in college football this year, Ryan Williams knows there’s chatter about him taking a step forward in 2025. But at SEC Media Days, he put it in perspective. He called it a “privilege” and said he now has a better understanding of balancing on- and off-field success.

“(It’s) not really pressure, because pressure is privilege,” Williams said last month in Atlanta. “But, you know, it’s just a matter of understanding your freshman year. There’s a lot of kids, like … Jeremiah Smith of Ohio State went through his entire freshman year and they won a natty (national championship) as a student-athlete.

“So it’s just balancing out the student-athlete life, all the NIL, just understanding and getting a rhythm (with) it. Now that I went through an entire year, I definitely have a way better grasp of it.”