As thick as Dontay Corleone of the Cincinnati Bearcats is on the defensive line, Ball State transfer Taran Tyo is a slightly taller version of a human brick wall on the offensive line.
As much as the UC secondary has struggled in the Big 12, one of the starting safeties could be a former Division I quarterback. Xavier Williams is one of two players on the team with the same first name as the Jesuit institution on Victory Parkway. Both pronounce it in the manner that makes Musketeers fans cringe: “X-avier”.
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Both are part of Coach Scott Satterfield’s new class of 15 transfers and 13 high school signees. Here are their stories.
Taran Tyo is a 6-foot-4, 326-pound offensive lineman transfer from Ball State. The Greenville, Ohio native is now on the Cincinnati Bearcats roster.
Better late than never, Tyo is Cincinnati Bearcat
Taran Tyo played at Versailles High School and hails from Greenville, northeast of Dayton. During a previous regime he came to Nippert Stadium for a camp and the offensive line coach said he’d be in touch with an offer.
If you’re familiar with the term “ghosted”, you know what happened. Tyo, now at 6-foot-4 and 326 pounds, made his way to Ball State where he was Third Team All-Mid-American Conference last season. The Cardinals were the No. 2 passing team in the MAC and Tyo was part of their pass protection. The last two seasons he’s started 11 games at right tackle and 12 games at right guard. This spring, he has spelled captain Gavin Gerhardt at times at center.
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“I thought I had performed pretty well at the camp,” Tyo said of his past experience. “I come from a smaller high school. Not a lot of guys get recruited out of there.”
Tyo was down on UC, but offensive line coach Nic Cardwell and head coach Satterfield brought him around. Color him happy to be back at Nippert in uniform and he’ll do his talking in the trenches.
“I’m pretty quiet hanging with the guys or whatever,” Tyo said. “I like to do a lot of my talking on the field. I don’t like to really trash talk to anybody. I like to talk through my play and be nasty on the field.”
Cincinnati Bearcats offensive lineman Tyo has displayed ‘Godfather’ strength
Dontay Corleone is generally recognized as the strongest Bearcat on bench press, but Tyo’s squat numbers have raised the eyebrows of Director of Football Performance Niko Palazeti.
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“Bench is like 350 right now, I hit 605 by four on squat (estimated one lift max of 685.7),” Tyo said. “Dead lift? I’m not sure. Probably close to 6 (as in 600).”
UC coach Satterfield talks Tyo
“He’s been a pleasant surprise,” Satterfield said. “He’s been able to play guard and center. He can play both at a high level and that gives us a lot of value up front. Obviously, Gavin (Gerhardt) can play center but I love to have another guy to slide in there if we need to.”
Satterfield says Tyo has picked the offense up as if he had been at UC the past three seasons.
Don’t besmurch MACtion around UC’s Tyo
“In the MAC there are great football players,” Tyo said. “The games are always one-score games, especially during MACtion late in the year. They’re always tough, they’re always physical. The battle of who’s more physical is going to come out in that game.”
Middle Tennessee quarterback Xavier Williams (12) passes the ball during a drill during Middle Tennessee’s football practice last August. Williams was eventually shifted to safety by the Blue Raiders where he made 77 tackles. Williams joined the Cincinnati Bearcats in the portal in the offseason.
Long path for Xavier (Williams) could pay off at UC
The high school team of Xavier Williams in Colquitt County, Georgia had an abbreviated season due to the COVID-19 pandemic but finished 7-0. That was good enough to earn him a look as a quarterback at Charlotte where in seven games (one in 2021, six in 2022) he was 34-for-67 for 420 yards and two touchdowns. He had 26 carries for 108 yards and two touchdowns and in one start against Maryland of the Atlantic Coast Conference he was 19-for-35 for 191 yards passing and two touchdowns.
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Williams left Charlotte to play quarterback at UCF under Gus Malzahn but was moved to safety. After not seeing action for the Knights, he went to Middle Tennessee State last season.
Though a quarterback early on with four carries for eight yards, he was switched again to safety. In 10 games with nine starts, he had 77 tackles for the Blue Raiders and earned Honorable Mention Conference USA honors. He also had three pass breakups, three tackles for loss, an interception and a fumble recovery.
Williams averaged nearly 64 snaps per game on defense and twice recorded 13 tackles in a game (vs. Jacksonville State and Liberty).
“I think that I’ve learned a lot from going place to place,” Williams said. “I’ve taken all the experiences I’ve learned from each place. I’ve taken what I’ve liked and disliked and used it to adapt. It’s been a fun experience.”
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The 6-foot-2, 215-pounder now looks the defensive part. But, he admits looking into the eyes of an opposing signal-caller, he can sometimes have an edge.
“Playing quarterback helps,” Williams said. “I kind of process things in a different way than most people because I’m used to thinking about so much more, like big picture rather than just one thing.”
UC’s Williams prefers making INTs over throwing them
“It’s night and day!” Williams said. “Throwing picks isn’t fun, but it comes with the game.”
The redshirt senior cites the love and support he got through recruiting as getting him to wear a C-Paw. He calls it a “true family”.
Are Cincinnati Bearcats Big 12 ready now?
“I’m not sure what they looked like before, but we definitely look good and we’re ready to go win it all,” Williams said.
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It all starts Aug. 28 with the neutral site game at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium vs. Nebraska, followed by a home slate that will start Sept. 6 vs. Bowling Green. One game Williams is circling is the Oct. 11 matchup with UCF.
Though the coaching staff that didn’t play him are gone, he smiles at the mention.
UC cornerback enters portal
The college football transfer portal technically doesn’t begin until April 16, but some have already jumped. One of those is senior cornerback Jordan Robinson, a 6-foot-4, 210 player who transferred in from Kentucky last year.
Robinson in 10 games last season had 18 tackles, two for loss, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble. UC brought in corner Matthew McDoom from Coastal Carolina and moved Logan Wilson and Kye Stokes to the position.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Despite being passed on, UC transfers Tyo, Williams ready for Big 12
