Ryan Williams adamant that Alabama has the best defensive back room in the country

Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams emerged as one of the most explosive players in all of college football last season, as he hauled in 48 receptions for 865 yards and eight touchdowns as a freshman.

Williams showed that he is easily one of the hardest players to guard in the sport, as showcased by his game-winning 75-yard touchdown against Georgia in which he made Bulldog defensive backs KJ Bolden and Julian Humphrey collide with a nasty spin move.

If anyone were to make a bold statement about how good a defensive back is, it would certainly be the Mobile native. At Alabama Media Day on Monday, Williams claimed that the Alabama defensive back room is the best in the country heading into the 2025 season.

“1000%, 1000%,” Williams said when asked if he thinks the Alabama defensive back room is the best in all of college football. “I 1000% agree that we have the best defensive back room in the country.”

The Crimson Tide DB room this season is led by junior SS Bray Hubbard, redshirt junior FS Keon Sabb, senior DB Domani Jackson and sophomore DB Zabien Brown (all returning players). Along with this wealth of riches in starting positions, sophomore SS Dre Kirkpatrick Jr., redshirt sophomore DB Cam Calhoun, five-star freshman DB Dijon Lee Jr. and four-star DB freshman Chuck McDonald make up some solid depth in the room.

Williams’ fellow WR Germie Bernard shares similar sentiment

Pro Football Focus ranked the Alabama secondary as the second best in the nation heading into the 2025 season, behind just Texas.

“I honestly think we have the best defensive back room in the country,” said fellow Alabama wide receiver Germie Bernard, via BamaOnLine.com. “Going against the best every single day, you have to find new ways to get open, new schemes.nIt’s been great. We’ve been competing for two years now with some of them and some of the new additions like Cam [Calhoun] and all the other guys, it’s been great.”

A strong secondary would be vital for an Alabama program looking to reach the College Football Playoff for the first time under head coach Kalen DeBoer this season. Last year, the Crimson Tide defense allowed 17.4 PPG (10th in NCAA) and 320.1 YPG (21st in NCAA).

A re-tooled Crimson Tide team opens their 2025 season at Florida State on Aug. 30. The Alabama defense will certainly be licking its chops for that game following the comments that Seminole quarterback Thomas Castellanos has made this offseason.