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TAMPA, Fla. — Ryan Coleman-Williams entered his sophomore season as one of the most electric names in college football after a breakout freshman year at Alabama. But 2025 didn't go as smoothly, and one issue stood out even amid the highlight-reel plays: drops.
The numbers backed up the eye test. Coleman-Williams' drop rate climbed to 16.9 percent last season, among the highest marks for qualifying FBS receivers, up from 12.7 percent as a freshman.
He still finished second on the team with 49 receptions for 689 yards, but the explosive production that defined his freshman debut — a season that included a 177-yard outing against then-No. 2 Georgia — became harder to find. His touchdown total fell from eight to four, and the drops issue followed him into the offseason, drawing renewed attention after a dropped pass during Ty Simpson’s pro day in March.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday at SEC Media Days, Coleman-Williams didn't shy away from the topic when asked what he's done this offseason to correct it.
"You gotta take accountability of it," Coleman-Williams said.
He described working through what he called "PRPs," reps designed to sharpen his focus on tracking and securing the football. He also pointed to a mental shift in how he approaches each route, one that prioritizes the fundamentals over the highlight.
"Making the catch first and handling the rest later," Coleman-Williams said.
It's a small but significant adjustment nonetheless for a player whose game has always been defined by what happens after the catch. He made clear the fix isn't about talent or explosiveness, both of which he says have never been the issue.
"I know the playmaking ability, it's been there my entire life," Coleman-Williams said.
The work has come under a new voice in the room as well. Alabama brought in a new receivers coach, Derrick Nix, this offseason after JaMarcus Shepherd left to be the head coach at Oregon State, and Coleman-Williams said the emphasis this spring and summer has been on building better daily habits rather than chasing a single quick fix.
"Taking the things I could've done better in my sophomore year and building the best plan for myself going into this year," Coleman-Williams said. "Just trying to replicate it day in and day out."
Part of that focus, he added, means tuning out outside noise altogether — something he said comes with the territory at a program like Alabama.
"Whenever it comes to noise or anything external, you have to take it with a grain of salt," Coleman-Williams said. "Praise and blame, it's all the same. So you just focus on the people that matter most to you."
Alabama also loses its two of its top returning targets from a year ago in Issiah Horton and Germie Bernard, leaving a larger role open for Coleman-Williams. Whether that opportunity turns into a bounce-back campaign may come down to the same detail he kept circling back to Wednesday: catching the football before anything else.
Fall camp opens in the coming weeks, with the Sept. 5 opener against East Carolina the first real test of whether his offseason emphasis on ball security has taken hold.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/alabama as Ryan Coleman-Williams Says Fixing Drops Starts With Accountability.
