What Ryan Williams Has Learned From DeVonta Smith This Offseason

And with all of his success, the 26-year-old has been training with the 18-year-old Alabama wide receiver ahead of Williams' sophomore campaign.

“Just learning from a guy that’s really defied a lot of odds,” Williams told Rece Davis on the College GameDay Podcast on Wednesday. “He’s an amazing football player but he’s an even better person. He really embraces you. I wouldn’t say he doesn’t like working out with other people, but he likes working out with certain people.

"Just for him to accept me and us being able to bounce ideas off each other and really get after it for those couple days, it was super fun, I learned a lot and I’ve been applying it since I’ve been from there. I am just super excited for this season.”

Williams shared with Davis a lot of what he learned the past couple of weeks from Smith. Williams seemed to be amazed with how consistent the Eagles wide receiver is not only on Sundays, but during these practice reps as well.

“Everything looks the same,” Williams said. “Every time he comes off the ball, it all looks the same. That’s what you want as a receiver anyway––you want to make everything look like a go ball. Making everything look vertical. I’ll just say the way he sinks his hips, I learned a lot. We really talked about that.

"You don’t want to come off the ball already low because that’s not how you play football. And you don’t want to come high because when you sink your hips, the defender, like a good defender, just being able to find that sweet spot, everything looks like just being able to misconstrue the defensive back is pretty much half of our job.

"The rest, we’re going to make a play. Just being able to apply what you do every single day and always making it look the same. The consistency of everything that he does, it looks the exact same every single time.”

And while drills often incorporate a full-speed approach, Williams was very surprised how Smith is "deliberate" in "everything he does."

“You can see his body movements, because if you just look at him, he’s not the biggest guy," Williams said. "Just the way he’s able to control his body is truly remarkable. I learned a lot about the little details on how I can do that for myself and just taking my game to the next level.

"We’re already pretty good athletes, pretty good football players, but diving into that small percentage, say we’re in the highest percentile, but you have that small percentage you can work on, and when you really dive into that, that’s whenever the biggest gains are made. Just seeing him do that, it’s crazy.”

Smith isn't the only person that Williams has acquired knowledge from this offseason, as he, along with fellow Alabama wide receiver Isaiah Horton, spoke with longtime NFL head coach Jon Gruden last week.

Williams finished his freshman campaign with 48 receptions for 865 yards (11th in the SEC) and eight touchdowns (tied for second-most in conference). While these numbers are impressive for any collegiate class, he's expected to soar significantly higher as a sophomore.

So, can the advice Williams has gained this offseason be showcased this fall on the gridiron?

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