Alabama WR Ryan Williams got his first taste at what could be an expanded role vs. Georgia

The Alabama Crimson Tide are off this week but that doesn't mean it's not status quo for the coaching staff.

Already preparing for the game of the year thus far against the Georgia Bulldogs , the team is coming off a huge win in their first true test of the season.

And if Alabama is going to beat Georgia, they are going to have to pull out all the stops.

One of those would be the utilization of Ryan Williams, something that OC Nick Sheridan and HC Kalen DeBoer are planning to ramp up:

Ryan Williams ready to assume larger role

"Availability to play multiple positions, and that’ll continue to grow," said OC Nick Sheridan when asked about Williams progression. "That’s always a challenge for a young player, particularly on the perimeter, is you try to teach them the offense through the lens of one position, just to try to get their feet underneath them. And then, as they continue to understand big-picture concepts, then you can move them around and they can play multiple positions. But I would say from the very beginning, Ryan’s been an incredibly committed football player, one that wants to know, cares about knowing his job and where to line up and what’s the split and what’s the route detail in all areas. And I think coach Shep and the rest of the coaches in that room have done a great job with him. But certainly for all players, they deserve the most credit. Ryan for being committed and wanting to learn and being able to play multiple positions in different spots, inside, outside, et cetera. It’s not the easiest thing to do for a young player, he’s done a nice job with that to this point."

Just to be clear, Williams was not supposed to be utilized this much, this early in his career. There were questions dating back to fall camp about whether he would even be a contributor, much less the best player on Alabama's perimeter .

And while that has been a reality, there is a chance that the punt return debut of Williams only continues as well:

"And just getting Ryan one rep out there [as a punt returner], I thought was good," said DeBoer when asked about Williams getting punt returns. "He did a nice job. Looked very comortable back there."

We'll see what tricks up their sleeve the Tide coaching staff has for the Bulldogs in little less than two weeks.

Related: NFL Draft expert names two Alabama stars as risers as 2025 evaluations continue