It’s turning into quite an offseason of change for Alabama star wide receiver Ryan Williams.
First, the 19-year-old Williams reportedly became engaged to his 25-year-old girlfriend, Alexis Ellis, in February.
Now, even more changes on the way.
On Friday, Williams announced he will change his name from Ryan Williams to Ryan Coleman-Williams and will change his jersey number from No. 2 to No. 1 for the 2026 season — likely his last with the Crimson Tide before he heads to the NFL.
Coleman-Williams broke the double dose of news in a shared post on his official Instagram account.
“Ryan Coleman-Williams,” Bama CFB wrote in the shared post. “New era, Same Ryan.
Hollywood has told me that he will be changing his last name & jersey number to ‘Coleman-Williams’ & #1 … Ryan has officially changed his last name to ‘Coleman-Williams’ to represent his mom’s side of the family & he also has changed his number from #2 to #1 … Uno Hollywood is about to go CRAZY.”
Engagement Went Viral On Social Media
According to several reports, Coleman-Williams and Ellis got engaged on Valentine’s Day, according to a post on Ellis’ Instagram stories.
Coleman-Williams made no such announcement on his official Instagram account, and the trolls came out in full force.
On Friday, Ellis shared the original post breaking the news of his name change and jersey number change on her Instagram stories.
“Congrats! Alabama’s 19-year-old star WR Ryan Williams has announced his engagement to 25-year-old girlfriend Alexis Hill,” NFL influencer Dov Kleiman wrote on his official X account on February 17. “Hill has one child with a different baby daddy. A six year age gap … Congratulations to the happy couple.”
Hill posted a picture of herself with the engagement ring on to her IG stories again on the day the news of the engagement broke.
Ellis, who hard-launched her relationship with Williams with an Instagram post following a 30-14 win over No. 16 Vanderbilt on October 4, after Williams led the Crimson Tide with 6 receptions for 98 yards and 1 touchdown.
Coleman-Williams is one of the highest-paid wide receivers in college football, with an estimated NIL value of somewhere between $2 million to $3 million for the 2026 season. He was paid an estimated $2 million in 2025 as the Crimson Tide returned to the College Football Playoff.
Jersey & Name Change After Disappointing Season
While Alabama found itself in the spotlight again in 2025 and playing for a national title, Coleman-Williams did little to help them to get to that point.
Coleman-Williams, who played his 1st college football at 17 years old after graduating high school 1 year early, was one of the nation’s best wide receivers in 2024 with 48 receptions for 865 yards and 10 total touchdowns in 13 games as he was named All-SEC and All-American.
In 2025, Coleman-Williams had 49 receptions for 689 yards and 4 touchdowns in 14 games as he led the nation in dropped passes.
“Alabama sophomore WR Ryan Williams has the MOST drops in the FBS this season with 13 and has 17 drops over the last two years, ranking him among the worst in the nation in drop rate,” Football Forever wrote on its official Instagram account on December 20. “Seven of Williams’ 13 drops this season are on passes 10+ yards downfield, eliminating potential touchdowns and explosive plays.”
Those struggles led to speculation Coleman-Wiliams might enter the transfer portal after the season — something he quickly addressed as a non-issue.
“Of course (I’m returning),” Williams told AL.com’s Nick Kelly on December 30. “I’m Alabama through and through. I have no intentions of being anywhere else.”
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