Has Jameson Williams become the wide receiver version of Joe Burrow for Ohio State football?

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Welcome to Week 9 of Clemson-Alabama Watch on the road to the College Football Playoff.

Jameson Williams hasn’t been forgotten inside Ohio State football’s wide receivers room even though he’s moved on to greener pastures at Alabama.

He’s been in Tuscaloosa for six months but has already proven himself to be one of the nation’s wide receivers in what’s serving to be a breakout season. Every Saturday, he makes a play. Then at some point later that night, Buckeyes are going to post about it on social media as if it had been done by one of their teammates. It’s why his Twitter page still has a photo of he and Garrett Wilson after the 2020 Sugar Bowl heavily featured.

There are no hard feelings about Williams transferring after spring camp. It was an inevitable decision based on the way he was used in 2020 and the emergence of younger guys in the room now benefiting from a normal offseason. He faced the same fate as a wide receiver that Joe Burrow faced in 2018 after the spring when it was clear that the younger guy would win the job he was fighting for.

Then it was Burrow vs. Dwayne Haskins. The Ohio native had put three years into his career as J.T. Barrett’s backup, and it was time for him to play. He found a home at LSU, putting together a modest 2018 campaign with 2,898 yards and 16 touchdowns. Then he went nuclear in 2019.

Burrow reset the national record book with 5,671 yards and 60 touchdowns on completing 76.3 percent of his passes while leading the Tigers to a national title. He won the Heisman Trophy by the largest voting margin since Troy Smith in 2006. Then the Bengals made him the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft. He accepted that trophy by making sure to thank Urban Meyer, Ryan Day and the rest of the OSU coaching staff. There were no hard feelings there from either side of the fan base.

“When I lift this trophy it’s for LSU, Ohio State, Southeast Ohio and all of Louisiana,” Burrow said.

Both sides came out as winners. Burrow got a season every quarterback dreams of having and is now an NFL starter. Haskins rewrote OSU’s record book, then went pro as a first-round pick, opening the door for Justin Fields to transfer from Georgia. He spent two years going to the College Football Playoff and lived up to all the hype he had as the third-highest rated quarterback recruit of the modern era at the time of his graduation.

Williamson can be the wide receiver version of that.

The Missouri native was the No. 82 and No. 13 wide receiver in the 2019 class. Technically his first two years went according to plan as a top 100 recruit. As a freshman, he was in a reserve role and flashed when given an extended opportunity with a 61-yard touchdown against Miami (OH), where his legs did most of the work. Then he stepped into a starting role in Year 2, but he wasn’t used that way.

He played 308 snaps last season as the X-Receiver, only having more than one catch twice against Penn State and Clemson. His most memorable play was a 45-yard catch in the Sugar Bowl for Justin Fields’ final touchdown. He finished the year with nine catches for 154 yards and two touchdowns.

In his Alabama debut, he practically matched that production with four catches for 126 yards and a score against Miami (Fl.). Then there’s his 10-catch, 146-yard, two-touchdown outing in a loss to Texas A&M that shows just how valuable he is to Alabama’s success. And don’t even get me started on what he is as a kick returner.

His numbers are the type of numbers that would make a Buckeye fan wonder if Ohio State made a mistake by letting him walk. The answer to that question is no.

Jameson Williams vs. Ohio State’s receivers

Player, School	Catches	Yards	Touchdowns
Garrett Wilson, Ohio State	36	605	6
Jameson Williams, Alabama	35	601	5
Chris Olave, Ohio State	32	518	8
Jaxon Smith-Njigba	29	551	3

Williams’ numbers are what you’d expect from weapon playing in an offense that’s only other real passing threat is John Metchie III (52 catches, 601 yards and five touchdowns). Meanwhile, Smith-Njigba, Wilson and Chris Olavehave to deal with playing with each other.

For those three, the reality is that there will be games where you don’t get the touches you very much deserve. But one off day hasn’t kept the Buckeyes from being on pace to have three 1,000-yard receivers in the same season. That’s because Smith-Njigba has forced Ryan Day to do something Williams didn’t last season. He made it ok for Wilson to go back outside, then made it a must for him to be involved.

The last time Williams put on a Buckeye jersey was on April 19 for the Ohio State spring game. He caught two passes, the first of which was a drop on what should’ve been a routine play from Jack Miller. That afternoon he first took the field as a kick returner. It’s the spring game, so obviously, the play wasn’t live, but for the sake of creating a game-like environment, he went out to go through the motions.

It’s a role he could’ve had for the Buckeyes in Year 3, and one that he’s has ironically excelled in for the Crimson Tide. He’s turning himself into a potential first-round NFL Draft pick, but that doesn’t mean OSU misses him.

Ohio State is doing fine without him, just as it did when Burrow left and became a breakout star. Their decisions and production at their next stops serve only as testaments to how good the competition was within the rooms they left. You may not be the answer at Ohio State, but you can be an SEC team’s only answer and why it’s a national title contender. You can do that and still be beloved within the program.

That is the world the transfer portal’s created and someway birthed a recruiting pitch the Buckeyes have adopted: ‘Come learn from us, and even if you don’t ultimately end up playing for us.’

Ranking the Big Three’s QB performances

No. 1a: C.J. Stroud, Ohio State

Game stats at Indiana: 21-of-28, 266 yards, four touchdowns and 42 rushing yards. Won 52-24.

C.J. Stroud will spend the second half of the season building a resume fit for a Heisman Trophy. Beating Indiana was the first step in that. Plus, playing for a team that scores touchdowns on 19 straight drives with you under center isn’t a bad selling point to have.

Plays Saturday vs Penn State, 7:30 p.m., ABC

No. 1b: Bryce Young, Alabama

Game stats vs Tennessee: 31-of-43, 371 yards, two touchdowns and 18 rushing yards. Won 49-9.

You can basically copy-and-paste everything that was just said about Stroud here for Young. No, Alabama’s offense isn’t as high-powered — no one’s is — but it’s more than enough to provide a runway for Young to put up big numbers like he did on Saturday. Plus this version of the Crimson Tide looks like they’ll be in a few more tight games that’ll require him to be great.

Plays Nov. 6 vs. LSU, CBS

No. 3: D.J. Uiagalelei, Clemson

Game stats at Pittsburgh: 12-of-25, 128 yards, two interceptions and 50 rushing yards. Lost 27-17.

The top pro-style quarterback in the 2019 class got benched on Oct. 9. Two weeks later the top pro-style quarterback in the 2020 class joined him there.

Spencer Rattler lost his job to Caleb Williams at Oklahoma and it doesn’t look like he’s getting it back. We’ll find out on Saturday if D.J. Uiagalelei is doomed to the same fate after getting pulled for Taisun Phommachanh.

Plays Saturday vs Florida State, 3:30 p.m., ESPN