ATLANTA -- Quinnen Williams is no stranger to hard decisions.

Alabama’s star defensive tackle grew up an Auburn fan wanting to play for the Tigers and was once committed to his current team’s in-state rival. However, Williams flipped to the Crimson Tide and enrolled at Alabama in the summer of 2016 after thinking about his football future.

“I was just making that decision as a fan instead of as a real business decision, a real life-long decision,” Williams said prior to the College Football Awards. “And I just feel like I made the right decision.”

After redshirting his first year and serving as a backup in 2017, Williams has emerged as one of the best players in college football, on either side of the football, as a redshirt sophomore. Now in his past, that business decision as a recruit led him to what has been a promising 2018 season.

This fall, the Birmingham, Ala., native leads the Crimson Tide with 18.0 tackles for loss (-85 yards), which is tied for ninth all-time on the school’s single-season list, and leads all of the Alabama defensive linemen with 66 tackles. Williams also ranks second on the squad with 8.0 sacks (-57 yards) and has also contributed 11 quarterback hurries, one pass breakup and one safety.

His stats this season are comparable to Jonathan Allen in 2016, which is a player Williams said he studied during his redshirt season that year and has helped him burst onto the scene in 2018.

“I envisioned being at this point because the guys before were at this point, and I really looked up to those guys and tried to mimic my game after those guys,” Williams said. “I really saw how those guys got here, like I know I got here because I did the same stuff those guys did.”

While learning from the past, Williams as thanked his current teammates and coaches.

Alabama's Quinnen Williams signs autographs before the College Football Awards.

“I really take my hat off to Coach (Nick) Saban, the defensive coordinator, Tosh Lupoi, and just my teammates in general because, without them, I couldn’t be the guy,” Williams said. “Without Mack Wilson and Dylan Moses, I wouldn’t get the calls, so I would be going the wrong way.”

Because of his efforts on the field, Williams won the Outland Trophy, which is annually given to the nation’s top interior lineman -- offense or defense -- and the Bill Willis Award, which is more clearly presented to college football’s best defensive lineman. Williams was also a finalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy, but Kentucky’s Josh Allen won both of those.

Williams, however, was the top defensive vote-getter for the Heisman Trophy, earning 27 points and one first-place vote for the sport’s most coveted award, which is something Allen (from Kentucky) cannot claim. But both players admire the stellar season they’ve put together.

“He knows football, so we talk football, we talk about business,” Allen said in Atlanta. “And he’s a heck of a player on the field, as well. He’s going to be a dominant player in the years to come. He’s been one of the best players in the country. And just having my name brought up with him as a finalist for each of these awards has just been remarkable. He’s done a wonderful job this year.”

Just like his days as a four-star recruit at Wenonah (Ala.) High School, Williams has a tough decision coming up. The third-year defender is considered one of the top NFL draft prospects for 2019. According to CBS Sports’ pair of mock drafts, he is projected as a top-15 pick, with Ryan Wilson’s mock draft having him a high as the No. 4 overall pick to the New York Jets.

But like his college choice, Williams is going to take his time on another life-long decision.

“I’ve got a hard decision. A lot of people know I’ve got a hard decision,” Williams said at the College Football Hall of Fame. “But I’m not really worried about that right now, I’m not really focused on that decision. I just want to make sure my team knows where my head’s at, I want to make sure my coaches know where my head’s at and I want to win the national championship.”

Contact Charlie Potter by 247Sports' personal messaging or on Twitter (@Charlie_Potter).

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