Williams: 'You could feel the difference in the air'

Ryan Williams is currently locked in with Alabama, but Auburn is pushing hard.

After all, the Tigers are in desperate need of playmakers, and Williams can see that. He also saw that Auburn is capable of playing with top teams in the country.

"All they need is the playmakers to make plays and they knock off the No. 1 team in the nation," Williams said.

There was a buzz in the air that Auburn had lacked in the Bryan Harsin era, and the difference between this year and last year was clear to Williams.

"You could just tell, the Auburn family really stood up today," Williams said. "Especially with Cam (Newton) being here, it being such a big match up — one of the oldest rivalries. You could really tell the fans really cared about this game and not only because it was a close game — you could feel the difference in the air."

Despite this being a loaded recruiting weekend, Williams was still able to meet one on one with almost every coach, which is extremely important to the receiver from Saraland high in Saraland, Ala.

"That was definitely important because there was plenty of recruits here," Williams said. "I heard Coach Freeze say there was around 370, so it definitely meant a lot for me to get some one and one time."

This was another change from the prior year as Williams mentioned that he "talked to nobody" last year.

Williams noted that he plans to return to the Plains for the Iron Bowl.

Williams is 6-foot-1 and 164 pound receiver. He is the No. 5 overall player in the 2025 recruiting class.