Why 5-star WR is waiting until February to sign with Alabama football

Five-star wide receiver Ryan Williams may have reclassified to join Alabama football's 2024 recruiting class, but he will be waiting until February to sign his National Letter of Intent to play for the Crimson Tide.

Williams, who has been committed to Alabama since October 2022, intends to sign his National Letter of Intent on Feb. 9, his 17th birthday, and two days after National Signing Day on Feb. 7.

Williams made headlines last week when he announced his reclassification from the 2025 class to the 2024 class. His reclassification announcement came two days after Saraland fell 31-28 in the Class 6A state championship game to Clay-Chalkville. Despite the loss, Williams shined for Saraland, finishing the game with 343 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns.

Now, the No. 2 prospect in Alabama per 247Sports Composite will be playing college football next year and joined an Alabama 2024 class that is tabbed at No. 3 in the country. He also is the third five star in the Tide's 2024 class alongside Julian Sayin and Jaylen Mbakwe.

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Before his reclassification, Williams was able to take unofficial visits. Now that he has joined the 2024 cycle, he is able to take official visits. He was in Auburn last week for a basketball game, and previously said that he intends to take visits to LSU and Texas.

Anna Snyder covers high school sports and University of Alabama recruiting for The Tuscaloosa News. Reach her at asnyder@gannett.com. Follow her on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, @annaesnyder2

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football: Why 5-star WR is waiting until February to sign NLI