Rivals250 safety Kaine Williams commits to Alabama

The offer sheet continued to swell up for Kaine Williams after turning in another stellar campaign for John Ehret (La.) High School right outside of New Orleans and a return visit to Alabama right before the onset of the pandemic set the tone for his decision a little more than two months later.

After nearly pledging to LSU earlier this spring, the Rivals250 safety committed to Alabama over the aforementioned Tigers and Texas A&M on Friday, putting a pin in a recruitment that had spanned more than two years and had largely included SEC West rivals throughout. May 15 was a date that Williams and his family selected to commemorate the death of his sister, who passed away on that day a year ago in 2019 while on an unofficial visit in Tuscaloosa. Williams and his family returned to Alabama right before the start of the CoVid-19 stay-at-home orders in the beginning of March.

Williams is just the fourth member of the Crimson Tide's 2021 recruiting class, which entering the day ranked No. 59 nationally in the Rivals team rankings. He ranks as the No. 120 overall player in the country and the fifth-best in The Boot. He's also currently tabbed as the nation's No. 6-ranked safety.

"I didn't feel as much love from the other schools as much as I did from Alabama. Alabama, whenever we were up there, a lot happened last June. It was my sister's death and that ultimately brought our bond to be much closer."

"Every time I had the chance to go up there, the coach were all showing a lot of love and you can see that with how they interacted with their players and staff."

"Our bond (with Pete Golding) is great. We can talk about football and we can also talk about non-football (things), and that's what I like about our relationship. I am just ready to get out there and play for one of the best defensive coaches in college football."

"Now was the right time for me to commit because I know that I'm ready to commit. Then, May 15 is my sister's birthday, my sister that passed away (last year). It's the right move also because this is a good school to develop me at my position."

Williams is a big-bodied, physically impressive safety that has always combined the ability to be a playmaker in both the passing and run games. He’s split snaps as a single-high safety, in a two-deep and playing up close to the box.

As a junior, Williams picked off four passes and forced three fumbles. He accounted for 50 tackles and 10 pass breakups. Williams recently earned an invite to the Rivals Five-Star Challenge with an impressive performance at RCS New Orleans.

At 6-foot-2 and 207 pounds, Williams is a prospect that coaches want to walk off the bus first. He measured in with a 77-inch wingspan and 32.5-inch arms at Rivals Camp. During the season, Williams plays just lighter than 200 pounds and can cover a ton of ground at the back end of the defense, but at his current weight, college coaches have flirted the idea of Williams potentially growing into an outside linebacker role. Alabama was included amongst them.

Williams’ long arms are a major piece of his game. He has a natural nose for the football and puts himself into good positions on the field, and his elite range allows Williams to easily pluck passes out of the air and corral defenders with ease in the open field. That length also allows Williams to make a good amount of plays in the backfield when he finds himself positioned as a strong safety down near the box.

In coverage, Williams’ physicality is a huge aspect of his playstyle. He punishes receivers trying to make catches over the middle of the field and is a solid defender when lined in one-on-one out of a nickel spot. His length allows him to challenge for balls in the air and jump-ball situations. Williams has the ability to line up with bigger receivers in the red zone and shadow with ease — and is a threat to make a play on it.