It’s not hard for football players to get noticed at Alabama. The coverage is so immense that players make national headlines if they play well or not. However, Jameson Williams isn’t getting enough credit for what he’s done this season.

Alabama might still be 10-1, 6-1 in the SEC and playing for an SEC Championship with a College Football Playoff berth on the line without Williams, but I’m not so sure. In general, I hate clichés, but Williams is the straw that stirs the drink for Bama when they have the ball.

Williams changes Alabama’s offense and the way defenses must play the Crimson Tide. Williams’ teammate, John Metchie III, is also a very good receiver and deserved all of the preseason hype he received. Metchie has 77 receptions for 895 yards this season. He’s tough and dependable. However, his skill set is vastly different from Williams.

Williams’ penchant for running away from defenses or getting past defensive backs makes Bama incredibly difficult to defend, while Metchie III is often running wide open underneath coverages. Meanwhile, Alabama can still run the ball. Williams helps with that, too. Williams makes safeties think twice before rocking down against the running game. No one wants to be on national television getting beat by Williams on his way to another long touchdown reception. And most defensive backs don’t like playing the run anyway. Williams gives those types of players a built-in excuse to stay out of the tackle box.

Williams’ statistics back up his importance. He leads Alabama with 1,218 yards, a 20.64-yard per reception average and 13 touchdown receptions this season. Those numbers lead the SEC, too. For comparison sake, Metchie III is averaging 11.6-yards per catch. Metchie III has more receptions (77) than Williams (59), but there’s no denying that Williams has the bigger overall impact. Alabama might be able to find another Metchie III if it had to. I doubt Bama coach Nick Saban could just churn up another Williams in the immediate future.

It would be difficult to argue that Williams is Alabama’s offensive MVP, but he deserves more consideration than he’s been given. First, he’s more impactful than any other receiver. Second, despite an injury bug at running back, Alabama began the season with depth at that position and will always have someone to hand the ball off to. Lastly, as fantastic as Bama quarterback Bryce Young has been, there’s always another quarterback on the roster that could post some highlights thanks to the players around them. Again, I’m not criticizing any Alabama offensive player and what they’ve done this season, but Williams is the straw. There’s that darn cliché again.

Williams is one of those receivers who plays hard and runs extremely hard when he has the ball. He’s not just a receiver who gets open deep in order to turn in a big play. Williams can also turn a slant into a long, scoring play because he runs with such determination. To utilize a phrase that is most often associated with running backs, Williams almost seems to run angry. He’s not one to skip out of bounds if he thinks there’s any chance he can reach the end zone. Williams’ play seems to have had an effect on Metchie III as well. He’s displayed more emotion lately, likely because he doesn’t want to be forgotten in Williams’ wake.

There is a huge difference between being an egomaniacal player full of anger from previous experiences and one who believes in himself and finds motivation in past challenges. Williams, who transferred from Ohio State, is the preferred one of those two options. Williams is certainly confident and still thinks about his time as a Buckeye. He remembers that he was just another guy for the Buckeyes. Why? Only he and Ohio State’s coaching staff can fully answer that question. However, Williams hasn’t shown any malcontent that one might associate with a transfer. At the same time, Buckeyes fans continue to fuel his fire on social media.

“Ohio State fans be tripping,” Williams said this week on Instagram Live. “They don’t claim me. I don’t claim them. Ohio State fans be tripping. They disowned me. I went to ‘Bama. When I graduate, I will have graduated from ‘Bama.”

That should give Alabama fans chills. That’s the type of comment from a player who comes to work every day with a chip on his shoulder to get better and prove people wrong. That can be a powerful motivator. I don’t typically think players should follow social media or feed fuel to unnamed keyboard commandos who criticize them, but I’m willing to make an exception in this case.

Alabama should beat Auburn this week. Then, they’ll face Georgia in the SEC Championship Game. The Bulldogs excel in all aspects of defense, which includes defending the pass. Georgia will be able to challenge Alabama’s ability to pass the ball efficiently, but that may not be what the Crimson Tide needs. Instead of efficiency, explosiveness could be the key to an Alabama victory. Explosiveness is what Williams is best at. Williams may not win any offensive MVP awards by those outside of Bama’s program. It’s too easy just to look at Bryce Young and think he’s the straw. However, Williams may be the Tide’s best chance to beat Georgia, win the SEC and be selected in the College Football Playoff.

That would get Williams noticed. So would playing Ohio State in an elimination game. Something tells me that has crossed his mind as he’s stirred the drink.