Ty’Son Williams was a four-star recruit from Crestwood High School in Sumter, South Carolina back in 2015. He committed to UNC over the instate Gamecocks, but last year he decided to transfer to South Carolina and play for his home state school.
It was a difficult path to get here, as UNC blocked him from transferring to any school that would be on their schedule in the four years after his transfer. Williams and the Gamecock coaching staff found a creative way to get him on campus.
Williams redshirted as a walk-on last fall and paid his tuition using the G.I. Bill. Now his redshirt year is over, and he is ready to add his explosive traits to the Gamecock backfield.
There were rumblings all spring about how impressive Williams is. He lived up to all the hype during the Garnet and Black Spring Game.
He has so much speed, elusiveness and awareness in space. These traits are innate abilities that all great running backs must have, and Williams possesses every single one of them.
Football has become a game of space. It is all about getting your most talented players in space so that they can use their abilities to get yards.
Williams is the new type of running back football coaches and quarterbacks are looking for. He can make plays running the ball and catching the ball.
When Jake Bentley was asked about Williams' ability, Bentley said, “He’s a very explosive runner. He runs very angry. He’s a very good complement to Rico. Both of those guys are special.”
This is a great description of Williams. He truly is the perfect complement to Rico Dowdle, who is a great player and will be the workhorse for this team, but Williams is the perfect change of pace back that can take a screen or an outside handoff to the house at any given time.
During the Spring Game, Kurt Roper gave Gamecock fans a sneak preview of how they’re going to use Williams. He had 113 all-purpose on 14 touches. Whether it was 10 yards on a screen out of the backfield, or an 18-yard run on third-and-one where he bounced it outside, Williams looked like a star in the making.
The first question head coach Will Muschamp was asked in his postgame press conference was about Ty’Son Williams and how he feels about him as a player. Muschamp answered by saying, “Very pleased with his progress, he’s got a great work ethic, a great attitude, and [he’s] a talented player.”
The entire offensive unit looked great during the game. Bentley was sharp, Edwards was catching everything coming his way, and Dowdle was running with an attitude. Williams is the X factor that could take this group to the next level.
He has a special skill set that is very hard to scheme against. This could be an incredible season for Williams, and USC fans need to know this name going into the 2017 season.