Alabama commit Ryan Williams didn’t even know he was playing in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic on Monday.

Six days later, he left with his team’s Most Valuable Player award.

Williams caught two touchdown passes and Gadsden City’s Dre Kirkpatrick Jr., also an Alabama commit, had two interceptions and a forced fumble as the Alabama All-Stars defeated Mississippi 26-17 at Southern Mississippi’s M.M. Roberts Stadium.

“It was crazy. At the beginning of the week, I didn’t even know I was going to be playing in this game,” Williams said. “Coach (Jeff) Kelly made a phone call and he was like, ‘Do you want to come down to Hattiesburg with me?’ I said, ‘Of course.’ I would love to play with him one more time. That is my favorite coach. I was glad I got to spend one more game with him.”

Kelly and Williams led Saraland to the Class 6A state title in 2022 and to a runner-up finish this season. Kelly was the Alabama offensive coordinator on Saturday. Williams, the 2022 Mr. Football in Alabama, finished with eight receptions for 92 yards. He announced Monday he was reclassifying into the current 2024 class, making him eligible to be a late addition to the roster.

“He came in and had a great week,” Alabama head coach Ben Blackmon of Enterprise said. “We knew he would because of the type player he is. It was really good to have him and coach Kelly working together and running their stuff.”

Williams caught a 48-yard touchdown pass from Opelika quarterback Roman Gagliano and a 4-yarder from Mary G. Montgomery quarterback Jared Hollins – both in the second quarter – to give Alabama a 20-10 halftime lead. On the second touchdown, Williams outleaped Mississippi’s Patrick Broomfield with five seconds left in the half.

“I knew I had to give my quarterback time,” Williams said. “I came off a little slow. I had to go up top on him. I had to dunk on him.”

The touchdown came after Kirkpatrick stripped Mississippi’s Michael Johnson and returned the fumble 26 yards to the Alabama 16 with just 20 seconds left in the quarter. Kirkpatrick, who was scheduled to report to the University of Alabama later in the day, also had six tackles and blocked a punt that led to his team’s first touchdown.

“It was fun,” Kirkpatrick said. “I didn’t get to make it to state (the Super 7), so I had to ball out in a big game and get my name out some more.”

Kirkpatrick’s third-quarter interception deep in Alabama territory stopped a Mississippi drive and led to Gagliano’s 88-yard touchdown pass to Auburn commit Malcolm Simmons of Benjamin Russell, the longest play in series history by the Alabama All-Stars.

The play bumped the lead to 26-10 with 4:09 left in the quarter. Mississippi closed to within 26-17 on Illinois commit Trey Petty’s 14-yard TD pass to Daniel Hill less than two minutes later, but that is as close as the home team could get.

Alabama’s fourth victory in a row in the series increased its lead over Mississippi to 26-11 overall.

Stat sheet: Alabama – Hollins was 11-of-19 for 92 yards and a TD. Gagliano was 4-of-7 for 150 yards and 2 TDs. Jamarcus Prince had two receptions for 26 yards. Donovan Price had two for 19 yards and Simmons had one for 88. Bryce Cain and Jywon Boyd caught one pass each. Andalusia’s J’Marion Burnette rushed for 64 yards and a TD on 16 carries. Theodore’s Bobby Pruitt finished with 10 tackles and QB Reese had 8. Mississippi – Petty was 13-of-20 for 160 yards and a TD. A.J. Maddox Jr. was 9-of-14 for 60 yards. Both were intercepted twice. Stonka Burnside caught 11 passes for 108 yards. Daniel Hill and Petty both ran for 30 yards. Amarion Tyson led the defense with six tackles.

By the numbers: Mississippi had 24 first downs to Alabama’s 15. … Alabama won the total yardage battle 316-282. … Alabama scored 12 points off 5 Mississippi turnovers.

Did you know? Auburn High kicker Towns McGough was good on two of three PAT chances despite injuring his leg in practice this week. He warmed up left-footed but kicked the extra points with his right foot. Gagliano kicked off for Alabama. Malcolm Simmons handled the punting.

This post will be updated