One of the biggest unsolvable issues at hand for the Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday might be trying to contain the Alabama Crimson Tide's best player. Although sophomore sensation wide receiver Ryan Williams is working his way back from a concussion suffered in Week 1's road loss at Florida State, the guy is absolutely electrifying with the ball in his hands. He may be the next Larry Fitzgerald.
During Luke Fickell's weekly press conference in the lead-up to the Alabama game, he admitted that there really is not anyone on the Wisconsin roster who can appropriately equate to what he does from a scouting perspective. Simply put, they do not have a guy out on the perimeter who can match his speed. If he is healthy enough to play, Williams could present an incredible mismatch in this one.
Of course, he plays the ball-dependent position of wide receiver and Ty Simpson is his quarterback...
Luke Fickell's answer to Ryan Williams conundrum is tough, but honest
There were things Fickell said in this press conference that were not great, but this was justifiable.
"It's a hard look to simulate because it's not like you've got a bunch of those guys that we can put in there to say, 'Hey, we're going to simulate the speed.' But his versatility, I think the way they move him around is where even seeing the growth from last year to Game 1. Again, we got to prepare like he's going to be there. I would assume that he's going to be there."
Wisconsin is at a disadvantage trying to contain Williams, the Badgers are going about this right way.
"But also, you can put too much of a focus on things like that, too. So, I think there's a balance. It's not like the other guys are guys that you don't have to worry about, or guys you wouldn't like to someway, somehow double-cover or have some in-and-outs. So I think you got to be able to do the things that you do, but you got to also be aware of the different things that in particular he brings."
Here is the entire opening week press conference featuring Fickell ahead of the Alabama game.
Fickell's approach to wanting to slow down all of Alabama's skill-position players works well in theory.
Luke Fickell is well aware that taking away Ryan Williams is not possible
The good news in this assessment is Wisconsin will have to look creatively at other ways it can get the best of the Crimson Tide. It will not be easy, but this Badgers team might have a pass rush. While Simpson can move a little bit, he is closer to a statue than he is to a gazelle like Williams is being described. Like Danny O'Neil, Simpson was largely unproven coming into this season, so there is that!
It starts and ends with Wisconsin doing whatever it can to maintain possession and keep the ball in the hands of the offense. Williams, or any offensive skill-position player for that matter, cannot beat Wisconsin if the Crimson Tide do not possess the ball. No, we are not talking about Army limiting Kansas State to two offensive possessions in the second half last week, but in that same galaxy...
Overall, a Power Four football team may only come across a player like Williams every so often. In Big Ten play, there might be two guys on the schedule who can move the needle like that. In the SEC, there might be four or so in any given season. The crazy part in all this is Williams is only a teenager. He enrolled a year early at Alabama so he could start as a true freshman as a 17 year old last season.
Talent may be dripping out of him, but he is still so incredibly young and is coming off a scary injury.