Ryan Williams Describes Alabama's 'Hell-in-White' Mindset for Road Games

The Crimson Tide faces its final road test of the 2025 regular season at Auburn this weekend.

Sep 27, 2025; Athens, Georgia, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide wide receiver Ryan Williams (2) makes a catch against Georgia Bulldogs defensive back Demello Jones (15) in the first quarter at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer isn't the only one experiencing his first road Iron Bowl this weekend. So are many players on the No. 10 Crimson Tide's roster, and one of those players is sophomore wide receiver Ryan Williams.

Road tests are nothing new for Williams and his teammates. Alabama (9-2, 6-1 SEC) has had three of them in conference play this season and won them all: at Georgia, Missouri and South Carolina. The stakes in Saturday's rivalry game (6:30 p.m. CT, ABC) are a lot higher. If the Crimson Tide wins, it will advance to the SEC Championship Game. If it loses, its College Football Playoff hopes are all but over.

The bigger picture is a primary focus for Alabama, but even if both schools were 0-11, the Iron Bowl would still represent the opportunity to win bragging rights in a state for a year. It's not one of college football's great rivalries for no reason, and the Crimson Tide has only won two of its last four trips to Auburn despite being the higher-ranked team all four times.

"This is what we face, week in and week out," Williams said Tuesday. "It's just exciting to go on the road. We have a mindset of hell-in-white, and really just going out there and executing at a high level... Really just looking at your brothers, and see that look in their eyes, and understanding the work that we not only put in, that we're gonna put in the rest of this week, but this whole offseason, and we know we have the same goal at the end of the season. That look, you know it's go time."

Alabama's iconic road uniforms have been worn for plenty of wins, in the Iron Bowl and beyond, but also five of DeBoer's six losses since taking over the program at the beginning of 2024. All of the elements of a challenging road game are turned up when it's rivalry week, especially so when the matchup at hand is Alabama vs. Auburn. The series hasn't had a night game since 2014, and it's always more difficult for the road team. Auburn hasn't won in Tuscaloosa since 2010.

Williams said the key for the Crimson Tide to be successful against a huge number of opposing fans is communication, something he added there's no such thing as too much of. It will be important for Alabama's players to be on the same page, because the crowd will show no mercy regardless of Auburn's record (5-6, 1-6 SEC).

"Jordan-Hare, they bring a lot of energy," he said. "Alabama, we're coming in, so we're gonna get everyone's best shot. But it means a little more just because it's the Iron Bowl."