Will Ryan Coleman-Williams’ drops be a lasting problem for Alabama?

Alabama football had a chance for a huge play deep in East Carolina territory on Saturday. Keelon Russell found Ryan Coleman-Williams inside the Pirate 20-yard line, wide open with an opportunity to potentially score.The ball hit Coleman-Williams in the hands. Then it hit the ground. It was reminiscent of some of the issues from 2025, when the now-junior from Saraland’s sophomore season was derailed by drops. “I just gotta show up for my team,” Coleman-Williams said after the Crimson Tide finished a 48-10 victory over the Pirates. “I have a great young quarterback that expects you to make those plays. And I’m gonna make those plays and just get back to the drawing board.”That was Coleman-Williams’ only drop on the stat sheet. However, he had another later on in the first half, dropping a touchdown pass while once again wide open, with the ball deflecting into the hands of an East Carolina defender.The play was wiped out by an offsides penalty on ECU. Still, it was a concerning sign.But as the game went along, Coleman-Williams seemed to shake off the issues. He finished with 5 catches for 130 yards, leading the Crimson Tide in both categories.Kalen DeBoer talks Keelon Russell, Ryan Coleman-Williams, run game after Alabama beats East CarolinaWhat Alabama’s dominant football win over East Carolina means moving forwardRewinding Alabama’s decisive season-opening victory over East Carolina3 keys to victory for Alabama football against East CarolinaEx-Alabama basketball player adds 2 felony charges to capital murder chargeKalen DeBoer pointed those moments out when asked about the drops after the game.“I thought he went out there, made some contested catches too,” DeBoer said. “We’re going to keep feeding him. He’s a relentless worker and he’s going to keep getting the ball. He had some catch-in-contacts and caught some balls in traffic, so just getting out there, and he’s a captain for us. We’re not going to shy away from going to Ryan, I know that.”Saturday’s game was the debut performance for Crimson Tide quarterback Keelon Russell. Russell, a sophomore, also said he was still confident in Coleman-Williams.“Stuff don’t bother him like that,” Russell said. “He came to me, he was like ‘I’m gonna get you right. I’m gonna get us better.’ And at the end of the season, you’re gonna be looking at the best duo in the country. That guy has a mindset of steel. Nothing gets in his head. A drop is not gonna get in his head, and we’re just gonna keep pushing.“Just got to have a 1-0 mindset. We connected on a lot more routes, a lot more plays that got us in field goal range or got us a touchdown. We just keep all the negativity or bad things behind us and keep playing football”Coleman-Williams’ first opportunity to clean up his performances will come next Saturday, with the start of SEC play. The Crimson Tide is scheduled to face Kentucky in Lexington, with kickoff scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT, on ABC.Matt Stahl covers University of Alabama sports for AL.com. He joined AL.com in July of 2023. He previously covered University of Missouri athletics for the Columbia Daily Tribune and started his career covering...