Making Sense Of Jameson Williams Leaving Ohio State For Alabama

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Ohio State wide receiver Jameson Williams entered the transfer portal on Wednesday, meaning a talented wideout was essentially a free agent in college football. Naturally, there was interest from a number of top programs and the rich just got richer as Williams announced on Monday morning that he is headed to Alabama.

This is certainly a move that raised some eyebrows as Williams suited up for the Buckeyes in the College Football Playoff national championship game against the Crimson Tide just three and a half months ago. With the NCAA now allowing players to transfer once without having to sit out a year, this may be the first in a long line of similar moves across college football and players jumping to and from similar-level programs.

Where as before players that weren't seeing the playing time they would like would often transfer to a program that's maybe half a step down in order to see the field, these players now know there's no punishment for looking at options. Williams, a talented receiver coming out of Cardinal Ritter College Prep in St. Louis, who already had relationships established at top programs, didn't have to go somewhere like Missouri -- closer to home and always looking to add top talent -- but could take advantage of the new rules to land with another national title contender.

From Williams' perspective, departing Ohio State, while not an easy decision, was likely best. When Chris Olave surprised most people, including some within the Buckeye program, shortly after the national championship game by returning for his senior year, it made the Scarlet and Gray's receiving room incredibly crowded. In addition to Olave, Ohio State had starter Garrett Wilson back and the Buckeyes want to find bigger roles for second-year wideouts Julian Fleming and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

Wilson announced this spring that he was moving back to the X position from the slot, where he played as a freshman. Williams was the Scarlet and Gray's starting X in 2020, meaning the writing may have already been on the wall even during spring practice. With Smith-Njigba the likely starter at slot, Williams' role, at best, would have been rotating with Wilson in 2021 after Wilson played substantially more than Williams while both were starting a year ago.

Then freshman receivers Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka performed well in spring practice, each losing their black stripe earlier than most young Ohio State players do. These two players each had seven receptions in the spring game to Williams' two. And while spring games aren't the determining factor of who is going to see the field more come the fall, it was hard to not be impressed with Harrison and Egbuka and begin to think about their roles in the Buckeye offense as soon as this year.

Williams, it seems, was thinking this way. This, combined with Williams' low usage even as a starter -- nine receptions in 2020, the sixth most behind running back Trey Sermon and tight end Jeremy Ruckert, and possibly some difficult conversations with the staff about what his role would be in 2021 led to entering the transfer portal.

More surprising than his decision to transfer was the ultimate destination. It's not often in college football that a player departs one powerhouse for another -- although, as mentioned above, that may change in the future -- as players with a ticking clock on their careers often want to get on the field, even if it means not as much team success. Williams, however, has three years of eligibility remaining, so he has time to establish himself in Tuscaloosa.

This is also a program that sent four wide receivers into the first round of the NFL Draft the last two years. And while neither Henry Ruggs nor Jerry Jeudy lit up the NFL as rookies, the chance to be a part of an offense that produces at a high level and is watched closely by professional scouts while still getting a chance to compete for championships was too much for Williams to pass up.

And it's likely that he will be a part of the Alabama offense in 2021, or at least have a better chance of seeing the field than he was going to in Columbus. As mentioned, two more Crimson Tide wide receivers, Jaylen Waddle and DeVonta Smith, were top 10 picks in the NFL Draft over the weekend, taking away the team's top two receiving threats. While sophomore John Metchie returns after hauling in 55 passes a year ago, Williams will be one of the more experienced wideouts on the roster despite his limited catches the last two years.

While no player just walks into Nick Saban's program and is guaranteed a spot, it's hard to see Williams not find a role in the Alabama offense in 2021. He will have to compete with the likes of Slade Bolden, Javon Baker and Traeshon Holden for snaps but given his experience and skill, and the fact that the Crimson Tide saw him up close just a few months ago, it's a safe bet that Williams is at least the No. 3 receiver in the fall, assuming he learns the playbook as expected.

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This move by Williams feels like a win for all parties involved. Ohio State was in an interesting spot with so many talented receivers on the roster and only one football to go around. If, as it seems, Williams was the odd man out or just wasn't happy with the role he was going to get in 2021, he has the right to move on and that only makes it easier for the Buckeyes to find other players roles. And Williams, who let's remember was the 13th best receiver in the 2019 class, still gets the chance to prove himself at the highest level and potentially set himself up for a professional future in the game.

And if it comes down to another Ohio State-Alabama College Football Playoff meeting in the next couple of years -- which is more likely than not -- Williams has given writers covering each team another story to write.

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