Alabama receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams is taking a massive gamble to save his college career, but fans are already calling on head coach Kalen DeBoer to shut it down. On Tuesday, the junior wideout revealed he plans to play the entire 2026 season without gloves. Coming off a rough sophomore year where he led the country in dropped passes, the risky move is drawing heavy backlash.
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“I actually practiced with no gloves pretty much my whole life. So, I mean, since I’ve been a receiver, I’ve been practicing with no gloves,” Williams said after being asked about playing without them, per Jake Boico.
When reporters followed up and asked whether he planned to wear gloves going forward, Williams kept it simple.
“Nah.”
He explained that playing without gloves isn’t new territory for him. In fact, he believes going back to what he grew up doing could help him rediscover his confidence.
Williams finished his sophomore year with 13 drops, the most in the country. Of those 13, at least seven of the drops occurred on passes 10+ yards downfield.
His drop rate spiked to nearly 16.9-18.9%, which means he dropped about one out of every five catchable balls thrown his way.
Apparently, Williams recorded the most drops by an Alabama receiver since Calvin Ridley in 2016 and the highest drop percentage since Jaylen Waddle. Naturally, his production suffered.
After exploding onto the scene as a freshman, Williams saw his numbers fall sharply. He finished with fewer than 700 receiving yards and just four touchdowns, which was significantly lower than everyone expected after his breakout debut.
Now, what people are worried about is whether going without gloves will make things worse for Williams.
To modern football fans, playing without gloves sounds totally insane because today’s gloves are basically covered in superglue.
Williams bets that removing his gloves could help him fix the problem. He believes gloves give players a false sense of security, whereas using your bare hands forces you to lock in your eyes and focus on the ball 100% of the time.
It’s very rare for a player to go off the following season after removing his gloves. Former ASU and Saints WR Jordyn Tyson could be the exception. Word is, he’s made 19 consecutive catches without a drop in practice. But then again, he didn’t quite have the drop issue that Williams had.
Alabama’s coaching staff, meanwhile, hasn’t given up on Williams. They know the talent is there. Kalen DeBoer has continued to express confidence that Alabama will get a much better version of Williams this season.
But the fans on the internet don’t believe that day would come after his decision to go glove-less. It didn’t take long for the internet to react once Williams’ comments started making the rounds.
One fan acknowledged the gamble but warned that social media won’t show him any mercy if the drops return. “Whatever works, but if there’s drops then the internet will do its thing….”
Another fan chimed in, noting that William might set an unwelcome record if he chooses to go without gloves. “All-time record of drop passes,” the fan wrote.
Then came the nervous Bama fans. “Put gloves on, please. Why disable yourself compared to everyone else?” And, of course, there were plenty of people who immediately dismissed the whole thing as unnecessary theatrics.
“This is extremely performative; just catch the damn ball.”
Another fan took the prediction straight to the worst-case scenario: “Damn. Plans to drop more balls?” And honestly, that’s the biggest question hanging over this entire experiment.
Taking the gloves off might help Williams mentally, but it won’t automatically fix the technical problems that contributed to his struggles last season.
Kirk Herbstreit openly questioned Ryan Williams’ fundamentals on air, stating that he lacked “natural hands” and struggled with his catching technique. As the season progressed, his rhythm and confidence appeared to disappear with it.
Eventually, his role in the offense shrank. That’s the part Alabama needs to see change. The gloves are just a small piece of the puzzle. Williams still has to prove that he can consistently pluck the football, trust his hands, and make the plays everyone knows he’s capable of making.