SLIDE 10 of 11 July 19, 2016- Williams heads south

By the time late July rolled around, most believed that recruiting for the cycle was over. Muschamp said many times on the record, though, that the staff was always recruiting. Ty'Son Williams showed promise at North Carolina as a true freshman in 2015, but the Sumter native got homesick and wanted to transfer closer. Because the Gamecocks and the Tar Heels open the 2019 season with one another at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, UNC head coach Larry Fedora would not release him to the Gamecocks (that’s against the rules as of a couple of months ago), so South Carolina and Williams had to get creative to get him to Columbia. Williams’ mother was able to secure the G.I. Bill to pay her son’s way before he could go on scholarship and he joined the Gamecocks’ program as a walk-on initially. When he was eligible in 2017, he had an up-and-down first year after transfer (averaged five yards per carry, but there were some games where he didn’t run with the confidence he needed to). That being said, the staff still believes that as far as pure talent goes, he’s the best on the roster. Williams has had a good off-season and he will push Dowdle for the starting job in the preseason. Regardless if he starts or not, if he can make things happen this season consistently like he is capable of, that’s going to be a huge additional weapon for the Carolina offense. The move to get Williams to USC was one of the more resourceful recruiting moves any Gamecocks staff has made during the modern recruiting era.