Kalen DeBoer’s staff welcomes surprise Five-Star visitor on campus

Kalen DeBoer has been Alabama’s new head football coach for only three full days. On the third day of his tenure, the former Washington head coach hosted a surprise visitor on campus.

BamaOnLine’s Tim Watts reported on Monday evening that Five-Star Plus+ wide receiver Ryan Williams was in town for his first visit to the Capstone post-Nick Saban‘s retirement. Williams spent time around some of the current players, including good friend and fellow Class of 2024 prospect Jaylen Mbakwe.

This trip comes one day after Williams and his family wrapped up an official visit with Texas A&M. It also comes the week of Williams’ upcoming official visit with the Crimson Tide. The Saraland (Ala.) wideout is expected to be back in Tuscaloosa for his official starting this Friday.

It marks a massive step for DeBoer and his new staff at Alabama in their pursuit of Williams.

Williams committed to the Crimson Tide all the way back in October 2022. Following Saban’s retirement last week, however, Williams opted to reopen his recruitment. Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Texas, and also Texas A&M are the five programs under consideration for one of the most productive players in Alabama high school football history.

DeBoer already communicated with him prior to this trip, and Williams is intrigued by his track record.

“I’m very interested in the new hire. Looking at his track record and what he’s done with offenses and how explosive they were,” Williams recently told On3 Sports. “That’s definitely something of interest to me, and I’d love to stay home. He told me that I was a priority for him with the way his offense is set up, and I would fit right in and make a lot of plays.”

Williams continued to speak positively in his assessment of Kalen DeBoer during his conversation with On3.

“He knows what it takes, and he’s going to continue the culture and the Alabama standard. It’s not going to drop off one bit, and he just wanted me to understand that I could have a big role in that,” Williams said. “I have open eyes and I want to hear them out. It’s just about building a relationship as fast as possible because I have relationships with other coaches around the country, so if that’s somewhere I’m considering, I need to have that.

… I love Alabama, I was committed there for a year for a reason. They definitely still have a shot.”

Up next, Williams will take an official visit to LSU from Wednesday to Thursday before returning to T-Town. He’ll officially visit Texas (Jan. 27) and Auburn (Feb. 3) before signing his National Letter of Intent on Feb. 9.

Per the 2024 On300 Rankings, Williams is the No. 8 overall recruit in the 2024 class, the No. 3 wide receiver, and the second-ranked senior in the state of Alabama.

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