Nick Saban didn’t expect to only sign two high school defensive linemen in Alabama’s 2016 recruiting class.
Saban was so angry about only ending up with those two defensive linemen that a former Crimson Tide coach remembers Alabama’s fiery leader yelling at another staffer at one point: “How did we only (expletive) sign Raekwon Davis and Quinnen Williams?”
“It was as if it was the worst D-line class we had ever signed,” that ex-Tide coach said, laughing.
While Davis was a top-100 recruit, Williams was so unheralded when he first committed to Alabama that at least one member of the staff got messages from fans that said: Why are we taking this guy?
It’s funny now.
Three years later, Williams has been so dominant for the Tide that one of Alabama’s former star defensive linemen — 2018 first-round NFL draft pick Daron Payne — sent Williams a message after one of the Tide’s recent games.
“Bro, you might be better than me,” it read.
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Once known by middle school classmates as “Cookie” because of his love for cookies, Williams is now known to some in the NFL scouting world as Gerald McCoy or Aaron Donald 2.0.
The Birmingham native has become so difficult to block that Alabama left tackle Jonah Williams has compared blocking him to trying to block an “almost 300-pound bar of soap.”
This weekend, Auburn will have the unenviable task of trying to slow him down. It’s particularly unfortunate for the Tigers because Williams once envisioned himself suiting up for Auburn.
He grew up an Auburn fan, was committed to the Tigers for several months in 2015 and apparently even still uses Auburn-related passwords for his email and social media accounts.
“The majority of his passwords still have Auburn in there,” Williams’ father Quincy said, laughing. “He just kept it consistent I guess because he remembered the password.”
Williams' recruitment changed though after he attended a recruiting camp at Alabama during the summer of 2015.
Tide coaches were blown away watching as Williams busted his butt the entire camp, went through all the drills for three or four days and never complained.
“For a guy, especially a guy with SEC offers to go through that for three or four days, is unheard of,” an ex-Alabama staffer said.
It was then that Tide coaches realized even more that they wanted Williams to be part of that 2016 recruiting class even though he was only ranked as a three-star recruit at the time. Not long after, Williams decommitted from the Tigers and pledged to the Crimson Tide.
Williams was smaller then — he weighed only 265 pounds — but Alabama coaches really liked his skill set and expected him to put on weight once he got on campus. Most of all, they loved his work ethic and competitiveness.
They still do.
“I think Q is a great example of a guy that has really good work ethic and really wants to be a good player,” Saban said. “He’s bright. He’s worked really hard to get bigger and stronger. He’s got really good quickness. His athleticism is good. But probably plays with as much intelligence as anyone that we have on our defensive team in terms of understanding how people are trying to block him ... and creating every advantage for himself.”
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An NFL scout told AL.com in early October that Williams not only had first-round potential for next year’s draft but that he could see him going as early as the top-three if he continued playing like he was playing. He has.
As great as players like Jonathan Allen and Payne were for the Tide, Williams may be having the most productive season of any defensive lineman in the Saban era at Alabama. In his first year as a starter, the redshirt sophomore ranks second in the SEC with 15 tackles for a loss, is third on the team with 55 tackles, has six sacks and has posted nine additional quarterback hurries.
It’s reached a point that NFL draft analysts are talking about Williams being a legitimate candidate to be the top overall pick in next year’s draft. He’s also been the focus of some humorous social media posts. His favorite, he said, is one that’s a video of Forrest Gump running with the caption: “What happens when quarterbacks see Quinnen Williams.”
“It’s been overwhelming,” Quincy Williams said. “A lot of us are still trying to process everything, especially his grandmother. She’s still trying to process the fame and all the newspaper articles and just everything that’s going on. But it’s been an enjoyable ride.”
It’s pretty obvious Saban isn’t as upset about that 2016 defensive line class anymore.
“Quinnen’s a guy that you can say legitimately earned his scholarship, earned his star ratings and earned his position at Alabama,” one of the former Tide staffers said. “He’s a guy you’re really happy for because you know how hard he’s worked.”
Matt Zenitz is an Alabama and Auburn reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mzenitz.