Alabama isn’t tiptoeing into 2025. After a rare CFP snub and a shaky debut under Kalen DeBoer, the Tide looks locked in with red eyes and receipts. And star WR Ryan Williams just handed us two of them. First, he gave a heads-up on who’s going to be the potential starter for 2025. Then, he not-so-subtly declared war on Vanderbilt.

Alabama’s QB room still has an air of ambiguity. The three-man race between Ty Simpson, Keelon Russell, and Austin Mack still has fans scratching their heads. Kalen DeBoer has voiced out that it’s an open competition, but the favor is leaning heavily on one guy. 

In his interview as posted by ESPN College Football on June 4, Ryan Williams kept it raw and honest. “I’m comfortable and confident in any of those guys just because I’ve seen the work that they put in. They all have different tendencies,” he said when asked his thoughts about the QB room dilemma. “But Ty is the front runner right now, so you know, just trying to build a relationship with not only him but the rest of them, of course, and just get prepared for this season, and we’re super excited.” Already a tell-tale sign who’s going to the QB1, right?

Ryan Williams didn’t name Ty Simpson like a slip-up. He said it like a co-captain aligning himself with the presumed leader. After all, although limited, this former 5-star recruit holds the most experience among the three contenders after being Jalen Milroe‘s backup last season. Meanwhile, Austin Mack is a Washington transfer who followed his HC to Tuscaloosa. And Keelon Russell is the dual-threat No. 2 QB behind Bryce Underwood. But would Alabama dare to experiment with a true freshman?

For now, the general favor remains with Ty Simpson. Even Kalen DeBoer is pleased with what he sees from him. Bama RB Daniel Hill’s comments in an exclusive EssentiallySports interview also shed light on the 22-year-old. “Most underrated player? Ty Simpson,” he said. “Everybody will see this season. He’s putting in a lot of work, you know, for the years that he’s been at Alabama, and it will show this year for sure.” Whoever wins the job will have a reliable guy to throw to. Ryan Williams already proved himself as a formidable catcher, recording 48 catches for 865 yards and eight TDs. And he didn’t just stop at crowning a QB. He lit the pregame fireworks for Vanderbilt four months early.

Diego Pavia claps back at Ryan Williams’ Vanderbilt comments

There’s this fiery exchange between Ryan Williams and Diego Pavia. The heat stemmed from the Bama receiver’s comments on this year’s Alabama vs Vanderbilt game after they surprisingly lost last season. The Tide were the No. 1 team then, and the Commodores had never won a game against an AP top-5 team. But in what was the season’s shocker, Vandy defeated the SEC giant 40-35 with their QB finishing 16 of 20 passes for 252 yards and two TDs. Meanwhile, Williams only caught three passes for 82 yards and a score. 

“Going into this game, we don’t call them revenge games,” Ryan Williams said. “We’re going to kill an ant with a sledgehammer this year. Every game we fell short last year, we definitely got red eyes going into them.” Of course, this rubbed the Vanderbilt QB the wrong way. So he got on Instagram on Tuesday night and posted a screenshot of Williams’ comments in the backdrop of Gucci Mane’s ‘Made It (Outro)’ in his story. His comment included the “💯” and smoke cloud emojis. It’s clear. It’s a 100% smoke starter. 

Now both teams have more reasons to look forward to this matchup! So we’ll see this smoke turn into fire when Alabama and Vanderbilt meet on October 4 at Bryant-Denny Stadium this fall.