Two of the brightest young stars in college football shared more than just a photoshoot when they stood side-by-side during the much-anticipated College Football 26 video game cover shoot. Ryan Williams, the electric Alabama wide receiver and former five-star prospect, recently opened up about his private conversation with Ohio State’s freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith, shedding light on the mutual respect, competitiveness, and future aspirations of two players already being hailed as generational talents.
The cover of College Football 26 is a celebration of the sport’s return to gaming consoles after more than a decade-long hiatus. But more than that, it’s a symbol of the new era in college football — one defined by NIL opportunities, social media branding, and star power that rivals the NFL. For fans, seeing players like Ryan Williams and Jeremiah Smith on the same cover is thrilling. For the players themselves, it was an opportunity to connect and talk about what it means to be at the forefront of this new age of the sport.
“It wasn’t just about taking pictures,” Williams told reporters in an exclusive sit-down following the shoot. “It was more than a photoshoot. Me and Jeremiah, we got to talk a lot off-camera. He’s a real one, for real. You can just tell he’s locked in. I respect that.”
For two players who could be on a collision course for college football supremacy — or even the Heisman conversation — it would’ve been easy for the interaction to feel competitive or transactional. Instead, Williams described a mutual understanding between two athletes who know exactly what kind of spotlight they’re stepping into.
“He came in with all this pressure, same as me,” Williams said. “People have been calling us the future, saying we’re supposed to be the next big names in college football. So we were just talking about how to stay grounded through all that.”
Williams, a dynamic 6-foot-1, 175-pound receiver who reclassified to join Alabama’s 2024 class, already has fans in Tuscaloosa buzzing. He’s drawn comparisons to DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle — but with a bit more flash. His highlight reel is a blur of breakaway speed, slick footwork, and circus catches. Meanwhile, Smith, who chose Ohio State over offers from virtually every blue-blood program in the country, has been labeled by many scouts as the best wide receiver prospect since Julio Jones.
Both players are expected to be instant-impact weapons, not just in their respective conferences, but on the national stage. Yet during their shoot, it wasn’t rivalry or competition that dominated their discussion — it was legacy.
“We talked a lot about what we want our names to mean,” Williams said. “You can make plays, sure. You can get likes and reposts. But me and J talked about the bigger picture. Like, how do we change the game? How do we carry ourselves so that kids five or ten years from now look up and say, ‘That’s how I want to do it’?”
The authenticity of that exchange, Williams said, left a lasting impression.
“You hear about dudes before you meet them. The hype, the rankings, the interviews. But when you sit down and talk to them, you find out who’s really about it. J is one of them dudes who don’t need to say much. His game talks, but when he does speak, you listen.”
Williams noted that their shared experience as highly scrutinized recruits gave them a lot in common — including an understanding of the mental and emotional challenges that come with being thrust into the spotlight before even playing a down of college football.
“People think it’s all love and glamor, but there’s pressure, too,” Williams explained. “We’re still teenagers, man. We still figuring things out. So we just talked about that balance — being young, but also being a brand.”
That conversation was echoed by Smith in a social media post following the cover shoot. “Much love to my guy @RyanWms1,” he wrote. “Game recognizes game. Let’s show ‘em what this new wave really look like.”
The exchange quickly went viral, sparking debate among fans over which freshman wideout will make the biggest impact in 2025. While Alabama and Ohio State supporters traded friendly jabs online, both players stayed above the noise — more interested in building a bond than stoking a rivalry.
According to Williams, the two even discussed linking up for offseason training in the future.
“Yeah, we definitely gonna work out together at some point,” he said. “We both trying to be the best. That’s the thing — you gotta surround yourself with killers if you wanna be elite. Steel sharpen steel.”
The chemistry between Williams and Smith was evident during the shoot, too. Behind-the-scenes footage showed the two laughing, exchanging handshakes, and even mimicking touchdown celebrations. Fans couldn’t help but speculate what it might look like if the two ever ended up on the same NFL team someday.
“Who knows?” Williams said with a grin. “God’s plan, right? Right now, we’re focused on doing our thing at Bama and OSU. But I wouldn’t mind throwing on the same jersey as J one day. That’d be crazy.”
