BYU's Skyler Southam enters transfer portal; RB Ty'Son Williams declares for 2020 NFL Draft

PROVO — On the day one BYU football player officially declared for the next level, another his made himself available to move on from Provo.

BYU sophomore kicker Skyler Southam is the latest player to enter the NCAA transfer portal, KSL.com confirmed Thursday afternoon.

247 Sports first reported the transaction, which gives Southam the ability to contact other schools for a potential move.

Just a few hours later, BYU running back Ty’Son Williams announced that he will enter the 2020 NFL Draft. The South Carolina graduate transfer was in the process of petitioning for a sixth year of eligibility via medical waiver from the NCAA.

Williams thanked his family, coaches and teammates for believing in him in a brief message on Twitter and Instagram. A master’s student in the public administration program at BYU’s Marriott School of Business (typically a one-year program), the South Carolina native said he won't return to school for a sixth year after stops at North Carolina, South Carolina and BYU.

“In only four games, I gave you all everything I had and more,” said Williams, who ran for 264 yards and three touchdowns before suffering a season-ending ACL injury in the fourth game of the season, a 45-19 loss to Washington. “Unfortunately my season came to an end short, but that span of time was the player I had aspired to be the moment I stepped on a college campus.

“After talking to my family, friends and coaches, I have decided to forgo a sixth season and pursue my lifelong dream.”

Southam is the second high-profile BYU addition to the transfer portal, joining backup quarterback Joe Critchlow. Head coach Kalani Sitake strongly hinted there would likely be more names to appear in the transfer portal prior to the bowl game.

“We have guys who want to be on the field more, and I imagine there will be others (in the transfer portal),” Sitake said.

If he completes the transfer, Southam, who still has a redshirt season available, would have two seasons of eligibility remaining after sitting out a year at another Division I Football Bowl Subdivision program.

A former Army All-American in 2015, the 6-foot Wasatch High product signed with BYU over offers from Cal, UCLA, Stanford, Utah and Utah State before serving a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Chile. He returned in 2018, playing in all 13 games as a true freshman as BYU’s primary field goal and PAT kicker with 11 field goals.

But Southam was eventually supplanted by Jake Oldroyd upon the latter’s return from his own church mission, and the two have gone back-and-forth in the kicking battle through 2019.

Both have receiving starter reps on the field-goal unit, but both have also underwhelmed at times. Southam, who was always BYU’s primary kickoff kicker, made just one field goal in three attempts this season, replacing Oldroyd as the No. 1 leg during the Cougars’ 13-3 loss at San Diego State.

By the time the Cougars returned to play in the Hawaii Bowl, Oldroyd was the starting kicker again. That likely prompted Southam to — at the very least — consider a change of environment. He would leave BYU with 4,045 yards on 69 career kicks, to go along with a 12-of-19 effort on field goals (63.1%).

The Cougars also welcomed home Ryan Rehkow from a two-year mission this month. Rehkow, a three-star ranked kicker by Scout who signed with the 2017 class, is a 6-foot-5, 205-pound dual punter/kicker and the No. 1 rated kicker in Washington, coming out of Central Valley High School.

The younger brother of former Salt Lake Stallions kicker Austin Rehkow may be best known for the 67-yard bomb he dropped, what was at the time the second-longest recorded field goal in high school football history and the longest since 1985.

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