17-Year-Old Alabama Star Ryan Williams Called 'an Old Soul' by His Mother Tiffany

Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams looks a lot older than 17 years old when he is torching SEC defenses, and he is that maturity extends off the field as well.

"He's an old soul," Tiffany Coleman, who is Williams' mother, told ESPN's Mark Schlabach for a piece published Friday. "People are like, 'He's so mature to be 17.' His grandparents had a lot to do with that. His maturity and foundation came from them."

Schlabach noted Williams lived with his paternal grandparents as a young child because his father was playing college football for Auburn, then Copiah-Lincoln Community College and eventually Louisiana Tech.

He was particularly close to his grandfather, Robert.

"He was always with his grandfather," Coleman said. "He would take him to practice. He would take him to school. He was Robert's shotgun buddy, you know?"

Williams is now one of the best players in all of college football even though his age suggests he should be in high school. He has 23 catches for 576 yards and six touchdowns through six games for the Crimson Tide and already made arguably the play of the season during a dramatic 41-34 victory over Georgia on Sept. 28.

He made a jumping, contested catch before spinning past two Georgia defenders and taking it to the house for what proved to be the game-winning touchdown.

It was the play that immediately made Williams a household name among college football fans, and now he will look to further cement himself on the national scene by helping Alabama bounce back from a loss to Vanderbilt and make a late push for the College Football Playoff.

Saturday will be an important step toward doing just that, as the Crimson Tide hit the road to face Tennessee in a key SEC showdown.

If the start of his season is any indication, Williams will be firmly under the spotlight in that game as well.