PROVO — As Ty’Son Williams’ roommate, BYU receiver Micah Simon was with the Cougars’ standout graduate transfer running back when the news came in late Saturday night that an MRI performed on Williams’ left knee revealed a tear of his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
“As a friend, as a brother, as a teammate, I was just sick to my stomach,” Simon said.
Williams announced via social media Sunday afternoon that his season is over, after he appeared in four games and was BYU’s leading rusher with 264 yards and three touchdowns on 49 carries.
Williams’ “tragic” news, as BYU offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes called it, was the focus of Monday’s press briefing at the Student Athlete Building as the Cougars tried to shift from Saturday’s disappointing 45-19 loss to No. 22 Washington to this weekend’s trip to Toledo to face the 2-1 Rockets at the Glass Bowl (Saturday, 10 a.m. MDT, ESPN+).
“Yeah, it was pretty tough, man, Saturday night,” Simon said. “It was tough for him, tough for me to see him kinda in that state of mind. … I just put my arm around him and sat next to him at home for a little while until his mom came over. We really just sat there together and just talked over some things.”
Simon and teammates Austin Lee and Brady Christensen and coaches Grimes, Kalani Sitake and Ed Lamb all said the 6-foot, 220-pound transfer from South Carolina is irreplaceable, but they will manage to move forward. Another graduate transfer, former Rice star Emmanuel Esukpa, and 2018 leading rusher Lopini Katoa will likely take the bulk of the carries now.
Grimes and Sitake said Sione Finau, a redshirt freshman from Kearns High, is also “in the mix” to get a few carries. Walk-on Tyler Allgeier, who was recently moved from running back to linebacker, could possibly be moved back to the position where he showed flashes of brilliance last season.
“We still have a lot of good players there,” Sitake said. “It is up to Lopini and Supe (Esukpa) and Sione and others that are at that position. We will see how it goes.”
Sitake bristled a bit when it was suggested that Esukpa was brought in as an insurance policy in case what just happened would happen.
“No, we got Supe because he’s a good player,” Sitake said. “We let them battle it out and compete for the starting spot. Same thing will continue this week with Supe and Lopini. The goal is to be deep at a lot of different positions, and let them compete. We have had to go into our depth a little bit this year. Unfortunately we lost a couple great players, starters for us.”
Esukpa, 5-11, 225, and Katoa, 6-1, 210, are listed as co-starters at running back on the new depth chart released Monday. Esukpa rushed for 49 yards and a touchdown on nine carries and Katoa carried the ball five times for 13 yards against Washington.
“I think Supe is a talented player,” Grimes said during his Coordinators Corner show. “Certainly, we thought that before or we wouldn’t have brought him here. Certainly now, in retrospect, glad that we have both of those guys as well as Pini and Sione. I am glad that Supe had the day that he did on Saturday. I think that gives him a little momentum, moving forward, and now all those guys will carry a larger portion of the load. And that’s a great opportunity for them. Again, a disappointment for Ty, but with each of these tragedies comes an opportunity for someone else.”
Katoa rushed for 423 yards and eight TDs for BYU last year; Esukpa had 196 carries for 778 yards in his career at Rice.
Grimes said Esukpa has a lot of the same characteristics as Williams.
“He’s got a great combination of speed and power,” Grimes said. “A guy with his size and his speed, he’s a load. You saw Saturday when he stuck his foot in the ground and went north and south, he is a guy that can run through arm tackles and be a physical, slicing runner. And so we will play to those strengths.”
The other starter lost for the season is fifth-year senior defender Zayne Anderson, who never fully recovered from shoulder surgery last year. Anderson needs more surgery, Sitake said last Saturday. The coach said it is too early yet to determine whether either player will seek a medical hardship waiver to get the year back.
“Obviously, we are disappointed in this injury, more than anything for Ty’Son and all the hard work that he put into this season, and the things he has done for our program in such a short amount of time,” Sitake said. “And so, I think his role will still continue. It is just a different role.
“With his leadership role and the things that he demands from that running back group, I know that they will play hard for him,” Sitake continued. “This team will play hard for him, and guys like Zayne that are lost for the year. Their roles as leaders will continue and we are still going to lean heavily on them to help this team out. They are still part of the roster, still part of this team.”
Cougars on the air
BYU (2-2) at Toledo (2-1)
At the Glass Bowl, Toledo, Ohio
Saturday, 10 a.m. MDT
TV: ESPN+
Radio: 1160 AM, 102.7 FM