What Kalen DeBoer Said About Lack of Ryan Williams Touches Against Auburn

Alabama sophomore wide receiver Ryan Williams did not record a reception for the Crimson Tide in Alabama's 27-20 victory over the Auburn Tigers on Saturday night in Jordan-Hare Stadium. Williams was not targeted in the game once and recorded just 37 of 73 possible snaps in the Iron Bowl.

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It was a jarring reality that the second-leading receiver for Alabama had only dealt with once before this season: when he was used as a decoy in Alabama's 27-24 victory over Missouri in October. Williams was listed on the availability report heading into that game and was a game-time decision for the Crimson Tide. Ahead of the Iron Bowl, Williams was not listed for Alabama on the availability report. So what led to the lack of targets for the Crimson Tide's standout sophomore from Saraland?

"He was out there. There was really nothing to read into that at all," DeBoer said during Sunday's teleconference. "I think there were opportunities where the ball could have found him. Not like they're designed specifically for him. That's really not how a lot of our offense is. There might be screens and things like that that are intentionally trying to get touches.

"As far as the pass concepts, we didn't get to him in the route or things like that. We got to be intentional because he's a playmaker for us. The ball did find some other guys. They made plays, as you saw, like Isaiah Horton. Yeah, we want to continue to be intentional. Ryan does a great job for us each and every week, preparing. There's no difference this week."

Isaiah Horton was the hero for the Crimson Tide in the 90th edition of the Iron Bowl, catching three touchdowns in the 27-20 victory for the Crimson Tide. Despite Williams missing Alabama's 73-0 win over ULM and recording no stats against Missouri and Auburn, Williams is still Alabama's second-leading receiver on the season, with 40 receptions for 598 yards and four touchdowns.

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.