Alabama Football Offensive Playmaker Darts for Transfer Portal; this season, he scored six touchdowns

The Alabama football program lost additional talent on Friday, two days after losing nine players to the transfer portal.

According to 247Sports’ Matt Zenitz, running back Roydell Williams has entered the transfer portal.

Williams joins tight end Jax Porter and wide receiver Hayden Neighbors as the third Crimson Tide athlete to enter the gateway on Friday. Williams joins LSU’s Logan Diggs, Ole Miss Rebels’ Jam Griffin, and Georgia Bulldogs’ Sevaughn Clark as running backs who will declare for the transfer portal beginning Thursday.

Roydell Williams: Four Years with Alabama Football

Williams is a four-star prospect in the class of 2020 for Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide. As a true freshman, he carried 19 times for 71 yards and a touchdown, trailing current Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris. Williams returned to the bench in 2021, rushing 48 times for 284 yards and one touchdown. He broke 100 yards rushing for the first time in his career early in the season against Southern Mississippi, gaining 110 yards on 11 carries.

With starter Brian Robinson Jr. leaving for the NFL, Williams gained a larger role in 2022, playing alongside transfer Jahmyr Gibbs and fellow junior rusher Jase McClellan. The 210-pound back carried 56 times for 250 yards and four touchdowns. He scored twice in his team’s loss to the LSU Tigers in early November.

This season, Williams was second on the squad in rushing yards with 560 yards and five touchdowns on 111 attempts. He also has 11 receptions for 58 yards and a touchdown. Williams, on the other hand, took a back seat in the College Football Playoff, rushing only once in Alabama’s 27-20 overtime loss to the Michigan Wolverines. Before the team’s final game, he had at least six carries in every game.

Alabama Crimson Tide: Running Back Room for 2024

With Roydell Williams gone, the Crimson Tide may rely heavily on Jase McClellan next season. McClellan, the team’s leading rusher, has 1,027 scrimmage yards and eight touchdowns this season. He might, however, leave for the NFL. Former top prospects Jam Miller and Justice Haynes are also members of the Alabama football program. This season, Miller rushed for 201 yards on 41 attempts, while Haynes gained 168 yards on 25 attempts. Both arrived in Tuscaloosa as top-tier prospects. Meanwhile, Nick Saban and the Alabama football team landed star running back Kevin Riley through the recruiting process for next season.