Alabama star receiver Ryan Williams has detailed the moment he and his mom found out he would be starring on the cover of EA Sports’ College Football 26 video game
Ryan Williams emerged as a star for the Crimson Tide during his freshman season
Alabama star Ryan Williams has admitted he was initially confused when he found out he would be starring on the cover of College Football 26 alongside his mom.
Last year saw EA Sports revive its college football series with College Football 25 after having not released a version of the game since NCAA 13 back in 2013. College Football 25’s cover stars featured former Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, ex-Colorado star Travis Hunter and Donovan Edwards of Michigan.
However, this year, Crimson Tide star Williams and Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith, who helped the Buckeyes win the National Championship earlier this year against Notre Dame, will be front and center on the cover of College Football 26
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Williams, who is only 18, produced a stunning true freshman campaign for the Crimson Tide during the 2024 season, catching 48 passes for 864 yards and eight touchdowns. He also added another two scores on the ground and was awarded first-team All-SEC and freshman All-American honors.
And recently whilst speaking to College GameDay’s Rece Davis on the College GameDay Podcast, Williams explained how he initially confused being on the cover of College Football 26 with reading defensive coverages on the field before adding that once he realized, he and his mom went wild.
“I was just at home with my mom,” Williams told Davis.
Williams earned first-team All-SEC honors following his freshman season
“We were just spending some time together because that’s, like, my best friend. … I got a text, and my messages, they’re summarized. All my messages get summarized.
“So I got a text that said, ‘Cover 26.’ And I was like, ‘Huh?’ I thought someone was asking me the difference between Cover 2 and Cover 6.
“So I tap on the message and I’m reading it, and my mom’s looking at me and she was like, ‘What? What’s wrong?’ I was like, they asked me to be on the cover. She was like, the cover of what?
“I was like, the cover of College Football 26. And my mom, she’s just a big fan of me. She doesn’t really know what’s going on, but she knows what’s going on because of me. So she was like screaming and super excited.”
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Williams added: “That moment pretty much summarized all my feelings going into it.
“Because even though my mom doesn’t know what’s going on, she’s super supportive of me, and the rest of my family, they’re always super supportive.
“Just being able to represent them and my home state and my school, it just means a lot. I’ve just been super excited and blessed to even be able to be a part of this.”