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PROVO — In the age of social media and internet connectivity where sports fans can find out news before their own team’s public relations staff, the word of BYU running back Ty’Son Williams’ season-ending knee injury taking a turn of the worse spread quickly Sunday afternoon.
Not for Micah Simon, though.
The senior wide receiver is Williams’ roommate, and among his best friends on a team where he has quickly become friends with virtually everyone after transferring to Provo following two seasons at South Carolina. So when the running back returned home after an MRI revealed a torn anterior cruciate ligament after Saturday’s 45-19 loss to then-No. 22 Washington, Simon was there.
Williams got a call and relayed it to his roommate. And then the two just sat together, arm-in-arm, talking through the difficult situation, until Williams’ mother Natoshia came to see her son.
“Saturday night was pretty tough,” Simon said. “It was tough for him, tough for me to see him in that state of mind, as a friend, a brother and a teammate. I was just sick to my stomach.
“But we have a lot of great people on this team and in this program that care for him, and we’ll love him up, lift him up, and he’ll bounce back.”
Williams is the third season-ending injury on BYU’s roster through four games, joining linebacker Zayne Anderson and tight end Hank Tuipulotu.
“We’re disappointed in this injury, but more than anything for Ty’Son and all the hard work he put into this season … in such a short amount of time,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. “I think his role still continues, just in a different role.
“This team will play hard for him and guys like Zayne, who are lost for the year. His role as a leader still continues, and we’ll lean heavily on the team to help us out. He’s still part of the roster, and still part of the team.”
When asked if Williams, a fifth-year senior who spent time at North Carolina and South Carolina, could seek a medical hardship waiver after playing in just 3.5 games this year, Sitake said it's possible but too early to determine if that would be the best option for the grad transfer.
Williams committed to BYU last spring, in the midst of spring practices, but didn’t enroll in school as a graduate transfer for a few months following a lengthy review of admissions.
Once in school, though, Williams joined the popular crowd — the cool kid amongst cool kids in a BYU running back room that had talent like last year’s leading rusher Lopini Katoa and fellow graduate transfer Emmanuel Esukpa but lacked depth. With Williams lost for the season, BYU’s depth will be tested.
But the South Carolina native won’t go far from the room.
“He’s himself and he can get along with anybody,” Simon said. “He doesn’t try to be a different type of person; he’s just Ty’Son, and he jells really well with a lot of people on this team and earned the respect from everybody quickly with the way that he works and the way he carries himself.”
Offensive lineman Brady Christensen saw Williams go down on the field. And while he didn’t know the extent of the injury, it’s hard not to feel gut-punched, watching the play, the way the knee tweaks, the struggle to get off the field and be examined by the medical staff.
Then came Sunday and the final gut-punch.
“You never want to see your teammates go down with an injury. It’s tough,” he said. “But we know we have a lot of depth and the next guy will have to step up. That’s the nature of football.”
It may be the nature of football. But that doesn’t make it any easier.
“Injuries are the worst thing ever,” Simon said. “It’s something that is a part of the game, but you wish it could be like 'Madden' and you could turn injuries off for the season. It kills me every time I see people go down. You never want to hear that, as an athlete.”
Katoa and Esukpa were listed as co-starters at tailback for the Cougars going into Saturday’s Week 5 game against MAC power Toledo (10 a.m. MDT, ESPN+).
Williams rushed for 264 yards and three touchdowns in just over three games, helping the Cougars to a 2-2 start after many outside projections had BYU going winless through a first-four slate that included Top 25 teams in Utah, USC and Washington, as well as a road trip to SEC country for Tennessee.
Esukpa followed the rushing leader at 80 yards and a touchdown — on significantly fewer carries, 18, including nine rushes for 49 yards and a score against the Huskies. Quarterback Zach Wilson has the next highest ground yardage, a stifling 33 net yards — 105 in gross yardage — followed by Katoa at 23 yards.
“We got (Esukpa) because he’s a great player, and we let them battle it out for the starting spot and compete,” Sitake said. “The same thing will continue this week with Esukpa and Lopini. The goal was to be deep at a lot of positions. We’ve had to go into our depth this year, and unfortunately lost a couple of great players, some starters for us.”
Former Kearns High standout Sione Finau will back up Esukpa and Katoa, with former backup running back Tyler Allgeier having moved to linebacker. Allgeier “is capable of playing both” positions, Sitake said.
