Bama’s Ryan Williams ‘not a great player,’ says Auburn LB ahead of Iron Bowl

Different players often have different philosophies on how to talk about their opponent before a match.

Some praise or compliment the other team, seeking to avoid providing additional motivation to the opponent. Some people don’t hide their confidence and might talk about what gives them that mentality.

Auburn freshman linebacker Demarcus Riddick did the latter, and then some.

In a Monday afternoon interview session that lasted just under seven minutes, Riddick didn’t hold back his feelings about the Iron Bowl or arguably the two best offensive players in Alabama.

Riddick is no stranger to the rivalry game, having grown up in Clanton, a town he described as split 50/50 by Auburn and Alabama fans. However, before his first Iron Bowl, he wants to spread confidence throughout the team, especially after Alabama’s 24-3 loss to Oklahoma.

“Seeing the results after that game, it kind of felt like this team was really beatable,” Riddick said. “I was just telling the team, ‘You don’t really look at this team as this or that. They are truly beatable. We have something to fight for.

“Coming into this game, I’m just going to be the ball against the wall every time. Like I said, Bama is a great rival team. I’ve never lost to any rival team, and I won’t lose to Bama as long as I’m here.

When it came to specific players, Riddick was first asked about Jalen Milroe, Alabama’s dual-threat quarterback who has shown the ability to tear defenses apart with his legs. As someone who is often tasked with containing the quarterback, Riddick showed confidence before facing Milroe.

“He’s a good quarterback, he’s fast, but he’s not faster than me,” Riddick said. “He’s not going to bring that box out this week and that’s something I’m going to have to work on all week.”

Riddick has the opportunity to have confidence against Milroe, given the role he played in slowing down the other mobile quarterbacks Auburn has faced this season.

However, he had even harsher words for arguably Alabama’s biggest offensive star, freshman wide receiver Ryan Williams.

“Ryan Williams is Ryan Williams,” Riddick said. “I mean, yeah, he’s electric, he’s all this and that. But in my eyes, he’s really no one for me. Ryan Williams is himself, he’s not a great player for me.

Williams is Alabama’s leading receiver this season with 804 yards on 42 catches for eight touchdowns. He’s been relatively quiet in recent games, not having more than 50 receiving yards since Alabama’s win over Missouri on Oct. 26.

Riddick’s trash talk was a rare example in modern college football of a player fully publicly embracing a rivalry game. Will this have a tangible impact on Saturday’s match? Who knows.

In a world of social media, his opponents are almost certain to hear the message.

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on @peter_rauterkus or send him an email to [email protected]m