$2.7M NIL-valued Ryan Williams gushes over Nate Oats' Alabama amid thrilling March Madness run

Ryan Williams is expected to be one of the most important players for the Alabama Crimson Tide football team in 2025. Ahead of the start of the season, he´s been following Nate Oats’ basketball squad.

The $2.7 million NIL-valued (per On3) wide receiver talked about the Crimson Tide’s performance in March Madness so far, as the team prepares to face the Duke Blue Devils for a spot in the Final Four.

“First of all, I'd like to say that I'm very proud of our guys. You know, they've been playing hard all season, just doing their thing. I know a lot of them, so it's just been fun to watch,” Ryan Williams said.

As to how far Alabama will get in the tournament, the wide receiver believes they can take top-seeded Duke, and anyone else, for that matter.

“To be honest, their run so far, it's just been, it's been very exciting to watch. I do have the connection with them, so it's just fun to watch your guys, you know, go out there and ball up. And I don't expect anything short of that. So, you know, my predictions compared to other people, of course, I got my guys over anybody. So I'm just excited to see what the future holds. And you know, my guys can blow a lot and get the throws up,” Ryan Williams said.

Alabama had only made the Elite Eight once before Nate Oats’ arrival in 2019, and never made the Final Four. However, a win over the Blue Devils on Saturday would have the Tide in the national semifinal for the second straight year. The school has never won a basketball national championship.

Ryan Williams will see Alabama facing fourth No. 1 seed this year

In a strange quirk of destiny, the Alabama Crimson Tide will face their fourth top seed of the NCAA Tournament this season. Bama has already faced Florida, Auburn, and Houston -the other top seeds at March Madness 2025.

The Crimson Tide faced the Tigers and Gators during their conference schedule, so no surprise there. They also played against Houston early in the season.

How did Bama fare against the top seeds? They had a 2-3 record, beating the Cougars in Las Vegas in November and splitting their two regular-season games against Auburn. Nate Oats' team lost both of their matchups against Florida, including the latest one in the SEC tourney.

Ryan Williams and Crimson Tide fans hope the team can pull back to .500 against the top seeds and book their ticket to San Antonio tonight.