Mississippi State Transfer Jayven Williams Commits to BYU

Oct 25, 2025; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs defensive back Jayven Williams (15) reacts during the fourth quarter against the Texas Longhorns at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

New BYU cornerbacks coach Demario Warren has picked up his first commitment as BYU's cornerbacks coach. On Friday, veteran Mississippi State cornerback transfer Jayven Williams committed to BYU. Williams comes to BYU with one year of eligibility remaining.

I’m Home🏠. Let’s work #BYU #BYUFOOTBALL #brighamyounguniversity pic.twitter.com/HMKudvMTxW

— Jayven Williams (@williams_jayven) January 16, 2026

Williams was a rotational cornerback for Mississippi State in 2025. He appeared in all 13 games for the Bulldogs and played over 340 snaps. He started at cornerback in the bowl game against Wake Forest. In mid November last season, Williams had one of the best coverage snaps per reception allowed in the SEC, per Cam Mellor of PFSN.

Most coverage snaps per reception allowed, SEC CBs:

Kelley Jones, Mississippi State: 39.0
Mansoor Delane, LSU: 30.8
Ellis Robinson IV, Georgia: 25.2
Ricky Fletcher, Ole Miss: 23.6
Mark Davis, Vanderbilt: 22.2
Jayven Williams, Mississippi State: 22.2
Zabien Brown, Alabama: 22.0… pic.twitter.com/WbgICXzwt2

— Cam Mellor (@CamMellor) November 4, 2025

Williams finished the 2025 season with 18 tackles including a tackle for loss, 1 interception, and 1 pass breakup. His lone interception came against Arizona State when he intercepted Sam Leavitt. Accoring to PFF, he allowed 194 passing yards last season. More than half of those yards came in an off game against rival Ole Miss. Outside of that game, Williams was effective all season.

Prior to his time at Mississippi State, Williams spent three years at Kennesaw State. Williams started five games and appeared 19 others. In 2019, Williams had 29 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, 4 PBUs and an interception that he returned for a touchdown.

Williams comes to BYU as a logical replacement for graduated senior Mory Bamba. Similar to Williams at Mississippi State, Bamba was the third cornerback in BYU's cornerback rotation. That's a similar role that we expect Williams to have for first-year defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga. BYU returns starting cornerbacks Evan Johnson and Tre Alexander in 2026.

Williams, a native of Alabama, is listed at 6'2. His length is his chief strength as a defensive back. He can also come up and be physical in the flats. At Kennesaw State, Williams was even used as a blitzer where he found consistent success. In 2024, he rushed the quarterbacks just nine times. Out of nine attempts, he recorded a pair of sacks, a quarterback hit, and a quarterback hurry. Under Jay Hill, BYU liked to dial up cornerback blitzes. If Poppinga runs the same scheme as Hill, like he said he plans to do, Williams is a logical candidate to be used sparingly as a pass rusher.

With Williams in the fold, BYU still needs to add one more cornerback. Kelly Poppinga told BYU Sports Nation that BYU needed to find two cornerbacks in the transfer portal. Since Williams is an experienced player that can play right away, BYU's staff could elect to find a cornerback with multiple years remaining with the second and final transfer scholarship spot.