Jameson Williams is still on the road back from an ACL injury. That path might be shorter than expected.
Williams spoke with NFL Network's James Palmer at Alabama's pro day on Wednesday and revealed he's ahead of schedule.
“Right now, I'm about 10 weeks out of surgery, the timescale I was getting was about 5-7 months, and I'm ahead of schedule, so with me being 10 weeks, we're just getting a lot of movement, a lot of good workouts in," Williams told Palmer. "I'm in the pool and everything, a slight jog, really getting to do high-knees, butt kicks and things like that, just getting back in the motions. Everything is going good so far, with me being this far out and this far down the process, and it's not that far it's just the beginning, so I think I would say everything's going good so far.”
Most important to the receiver's draft stock is when that timeline ends, with training camp being a key target. If a team is going to spend a first-round pick on Williams, it would logically like to have him in time for the season to start, though it shouldn't be a deal breaker.
Williams thinks he's headed toward that target, with a key caveat: only if he's completely ready to go.
“Oh yeah, for sure, that's what I'm shooting for, but what overrules that is just me making sure I'm 100% before I do anything," Williams said. "So that would be my time frame, but I'm just going to make sure everything is 100 before I come back and everything, just so I can be right for sure.”
Williams' story is among the first success tales of college football's initial steps into the transfer portal era. Williams couldn't crack the starting receiving duo while at Ohio State, spending much of his time there stuck behind Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson -- two fellow first-round prospects in April's draft -- so he packed his bags and left Columbus for Tuscaloosa. There, he teamed with John Metchie to form an explosive receiving duo of their own and rocketed himself up draft boards before a torn ACL forced him out of the College Football Playoff National Championship.
The injury also threw him back into the familiar uncertainty he experienced while with the Buckeyes. Still, most see Williams' single breakout season at Alabama as enough proof to take him in the top two rounds. After Williams was unable to participate in the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine -- a workout in which his former Ohio State teammates starred -- one question lingers: How good is Williams, a player who couldn’t beat out Olave and Wilson, when compared alongside them in the same draft class?
Williams said he hasn't heard much about his current standing among NFL talent evaluators, who have instead spent much of their time getting updates on his rehab. But like his move from Ohio State to Alabama, Williams is familiar with tuning out any external doubt.
“I really haven't been focusing on that," Williams said of his projected draft position. "My focus has been my leg, so I just tune all that out, just trying to get right and get back to playing, really.”