Ryan Williams walks into Doak Campbell Stadium carrying a T-Rex toy
Published:
Ryan Williams looked the part, dressed fabulously with glasses on and headphones blaring whatever you imagine Williams would be listening to on such a huge day.
The freshman phenom of 2024 was about to start his sophomore campaign of 2025, and he was set to make it a big season for himself and the Alabama program he hopes to lead back to the College Football Playoff after a 1-year absence. Williams had a heck of a start to last season before taping off a bit at the end, as he finished with 48 catches for 865 yards and 8 touchdowns.
But that late-season swoon for Williams surely stung, and the Crimson Tide ultimately fell short in a 9-4 season that fell far under Alabama’s lofty standards.
Fast-forward to Saturday and that entrance Williams made to Doak Campbell Stadium for Alabama’s 2025 season opener against Florida State. It was a true road game on a national TV stage on ABC, and Williams was going to project as hard an image as possible for the fans and media. So, naturally, he chose to carry with him a … T-Rex stuffed animal as he got off the bus in Tallahassee and headed into the stadium to launch that sophomore season.
Here is the somewhat hilarious video of Williams looking all serious but carrying that little, soft friend:
Perhaps if Williams has a huge day against that Seminoles secondary, the stuffed animal could become a good luck charm of sorts, and just maybe we’ll get to see it again this fall.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
