Nick Saban Raves About Transfers WR Jameson Williams and LB Henry To'oTo'o
HOOVER, Ala. — In addition to signing the No. 1 recruiting class in the country, Alabama football added reinforcements and got stronger through the transfer portal via Ohio State wide receiver Jameson Williams and Tennessee linebacker Henry To'oTo'o.
Both players arrived on campus this summer and have earned rave reviews from teammates and coach Nick Saban.
Williams adds experience, track-star speed and electric play-making ability to a wide receivers room that has many unproven players. In only two seasons with the Buckeyes and limited playing time, the St. Louis, Missouri product caught 14 passes for 266 yards and three touchdowns.
"I think Jamo [Williams] is a really great addition to our offense," Alabama wideout John Metchie III said Wednesday during SEC Media Days. "I think he's going to add a lot of speed to our offense, and I think he's going to help make us more dynamic."
Williams has only participated in 7-on-7 workouts and strength and conditioning drills so far, but he has made quite the impression on Saban.
"Jameson Williams has been very impressive with us this summer," Saban said. "We felt like we needed someone who has the juice and speed at receiver to compliment the players that we do have and we needed some experience after losing four first-round draft picks in the last two years at that position.
"He certainly has not disappointed in how he has added those elements to our offense in what we have seen this summer."
As for To'oTo'o, who was the Volunteers' leading tackler a season ago with 76 total stops, his addition makes the Crimson Tide's linebacker corp arguably the best in the nation, alongside the likes of Christian Harris, Will Anderson Jr, Christopher Allen and Jaylen Moody.
Saban and company might have missed on him when he originally came out of high school in the recruiting class of 2019 and signed with Jeremy Pruitt and Tennessee, but it made sure not to make the same mistake again when given the chance to re-recruit in the transfer portal.
"We thought Henry was one of the best players, defensive players in our conference, in watching him play at Tennessee, and we had recruited him in high school," Saban said. "We thought he was an outstanding player in high school. We're talking about a fine young man who's very intelligent, very instinctive player, very conscientious. He wants to know everything about not only what he does, but everybody on the defense. He's got really good leadership qualities.
"So I think that there's a lot of positives that he can bring, especially — you always want to have a great signal caller or quarterback type guy on defense. Regardless of what kind of player they are, those things really enhance the chances of all the other players on defense playing with confidence because they're confident in the call that they're getting, the adjustment that they're making, and I think that's something that Henry can really add to us as well as being a very productive player."
