USC FOOTBALL

Gamecocks' Ty'Son Williams enters NCAA Transfer Portal

Former Crestwood standout: 'I want to get the most out of my last year"

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There is one simple reason South Carolina running back Ty’Son Williams placed his name in the NCAA Transfer Portal on Tuesday.

“I want to get the most out of my last year,” Williams said.

The former Crestwood High School standout has likely played his last down of football with the Gamecocks after opening the door to the possibility of transferring for his final year of eligibility.

Williams, who has played at USC the past two years after transferring from North Carolina, has split time in the backfield with Rico Dowdle, Mon Denson and A.J. Turner in those seasons. He is looking for more opportunities on the field.

“I’ve been able to do some things,” Williams said. “I just feel like I have more to give.”

He wants the opportunity to display his talents to National Football League scouts in his final season.

“That’s very important,” Williams said. “My perspective is this will give me a chance to show what I can do. “I feel like I can do it, I just need to be put in a position to do it.”

The news of Williams entering the portal broke on Tuesday morning. It was reported by SEC Network analyst Cole Cubelic on his Twitter account.

Williams, who was Carolina’s third leading rusher this season after being its second leading rusher as a sophomore, said he has no preconceived notions of where he might want to transfer and had no contact from any potential suitors as of Tuesday afternoon.

“I’m just looking around to try and find the best fit,” Williams said. “I have no idea right now where that place is going to be. I want to look and listen and see what’s the best fit.”

Just because a player enters his name in the portal, it doesn’t necessarily mean he will transfer. The portal does give coaches a chance to contact the player so the player can see what options are available.

While he won’t completely rule out the possibility of remaining in Columbia, Williams doesn’t anticipate that happening.

Williams has one year of eligibility remaining. He graduated from USC in December, making him eligible to be a graduate transfer. That means he would be able to transfer to a Football Bowl Subdivision school and play in the 2019 season.

Williams announced the decision to enter the portal after Thomas Brown was hired as USC’s new running backs coach. However, he said that had nothing to do with his decision.

His plan is to transfer to another FBS program like South Carolina. While he would like to transfer to another Power 5 conference school, Williams said it’s not an absolute necessity.

“Again, it’s all about the fit,” he said.

Williams rushed for 328 yards on 70 carries, scoring four touchdowns. He also caught nine passes for 152 yards.

His biggest game came in the Gamecock’ road win at Mississippi. Williams caught three passes for 105 yards and rushed seven times for 30 yards and a score. However, he broke a hand during the game and didn’t play in the final four regular-season contests.

“There definitely was a lot of frustration with the injury,” he said. “I was having a great game, injured the hand and then had to sit out the rest of the season.”

He did return to play in USC’s 28-0 loss to Virginia in the Belk Bowl. He had four carries for nine yards.

In his first year in Columbia – 2017 – Williams was the second leading rusher, picking up 471 yards on 95 carries while scoring one time.

He has made seven career starts in 20 games at Carolina. Williams’ top rushing performance came as a sophomore when he ran for 95 yards against Louisiana Tech.

Williams rushed for 3,674 in his final three years at Crestwood. He was rated the top player in South Carolina by ESPN, and was listed as the No. 11 running back nationally.

He signed with UNC out of high school and rushed 19 times for 57 as a freshman. He decided to transfer after that season.