Ryan Coleman-Williams’ afternoon in Alabama’s opener against East Carolina had just about everything: a costly drop, a pair of big catches, another miscue with quarterback Keelon Russell, and a final stat line that looked a lot like the kind of production the Crimson Tide needs from him.
In Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday, Coleman-Williams finished with five catches for 130 yards, 86 more than anyone else on the team. That made him Alabama’s clear focal point in the passing game, especially with last season’s leading receiver Germie Bernard now in the NFL.
But the game also served up the kind of frustration that has followed Coleman-Williams before.
Early in the first quarter, he let a wide-open pass slip through his hands and hit the turf. He had another drop in the end zone to open the second quarter, a play that eventually led to an interception on fourth down before an offsides penalty wiped it out. Later, in the third quarter, he was involved in a botched read-option with Russell that ended with a fumble recovery by East Carolina.
Still, when Alabama was dragging with a 17-7 lead in the second quarter, Coleman-Williams delivered one of the day’s biggest plays: a 58-yard catch-and-run on third-and-11.
That’s the tension with Coleman-Williams. The highs can be loud. The lows can be just as obvious.
"When you go back and watch the film, it's never as good as you think and never as bad as you think," he said postgame. "Obviously, as a whole, we felt like we left some things out there, including myself, obviously."
By Pro Football Focus’ tracking, it was the third multi-drop game of his career. That also pushed his career total to 19 drops on 171 targets, a drop rate of 11.1% that ranks among the top 15 highest in FBS since the start of the 2024 season.
Coleman-Williams said the responsibility starts with him.
"I have to show up for my team," he said of his two drops. "I have a great young quarterback who expects me to make those plays and I'm gonna make those plays, and get back to the drawing board, get back to work."
He also brushed off the idea that playing without gloves had anything to do with the mistakes.
"Like I said earlier, it was never really about the gloves or not about the gloves. It's just me playing football.
It's a sport where it's just about having fun. Gloves were how I decided to execute that.
The job is gonna get done."
Coleman-Williams, who was voted a captain by his teammates on Friday, also accepted blame for the turnover that was charged to Russell.
"That was on me," he said. "We didn't have good communication, obviously, and it cost us. It's a read play but I just got to be aggressive with the ball and protect the team with all costs."
Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer didn’t sound interested in pulling back from Coleman-Williams, either. Asked about the drops, he pointed to the receiver’s work in traffic and said the staff will keep going to him.
"We're gonna keep feeding him," DeBoer said. "He's a relentless worker and he's gonna keep getting the ball.
I thought he had some catching contacts and caught some balls in traffic, and just getting out there -- he's a captain for us. We're not gonna shy away from going to Ryan, I know that."
Russell, for his part, backed his top target as well. He called Coleman-Williams a "phenomenal player" and said the drops didn’t shake him.
"He come to me and was like, 'I'm gonna get you right. I'm gonna get us better.'
And at the end of the season, you're gonna be looking at the best duo in the country," Russell said. "That guy has a mindset of steel.
You know, nothing gets in gets in his head. A drop is not gonna get in his head, and we're just gonna keep pushing.
You gotta have a 1-0 mindset, like I said, and we connected on a lot of more routes, a lot of more plays that got us in field goal range or got us some touchdowns.
"So we just keep all the negativity or the bad things behind us and keep playing football."
In Other News...
Alabama's Opener Exposed Two Concerns Fans Can't Ignore
Alabama opened the 2026 season with a win over East Carolina, giving Kalen DeBoer a clean start to his third year on the sideline, but the game still offered an early read on where this team stands. Sophomore quarterback Keelon Russell made his first career start and looked composed enough to settle things down, using his athleticism to help keep the offense moving, while Ryan Coleman-Williams provided a real vertical threat with more than 100 receiving yards.
Even so, the Tide left with a few reminders that September can be revealing in ways a final score does not fully show. The defense looked more ready for SEC-level football than the offense did, and the issues up front on the offensive line were hard to miss as Alabama tried to sort out protection and consistency. Coleman-Williams big day also came with some costly drops, leaving the passing game with both promise and proof that there is still cleanup work to do before the schedule stiffens. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama's Young Offense Has One More Thing To Prove In Second Half
At halftime, Alabama has more than enough cushion against East Carolina, but the game has still offered a useful snapshot of where this young offense is growing and where it still needs work. The ground game has carried the day, the offensive line has given freshman quarterback Keelon Russell a clean pocket, and the defense has mostly done its job against the run while helping the Tide build a 38-7 lead.
The next step is a familiar one for Alabamas offense: making life easier on Russell by creating more separation on the outside and turning good protection into cleaner, quicker answers downfield. The defense has been sturdy in the trenches, but it has also shown a willingness to give up explosive plays when communication slips, which is the sort of detail that can matter more against better competition than it has in a lopsided first half here. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Faces A Familiar Worry With Its Most Explosive Receiver
The opening game of the season brought an old concern back into view for Alabama, as Ryan Coleman-Williams had another rough day at the catch point. The explosive receiver has been central to what the Crimson Tide want to do offensively, and his ability to turn chances into chunk plays remains a key part of Alabamas hopes heading into the rest of the year.
Coleman-Williams did spend the offseason trying to clean up the issue, making changes aimed at improving his hands and sharpening his reliability. Even so, the early signs were a reminder that Alabamas passing attack may have to keep living with a little volatility from one of its most dangerous weapons, which is not exactly the kind of tradeoff a contender wants to carry for long. [Read more 🡒]