Transfer OL Tyshawn Wyatt looking to bounce back from injury at UVa
The last time Virginia graduate offensive lineman Tyshawn Wyatt saw on-field action was on Oct. 28, 2023. Wyatt, then in his fourth season with James Madison, went down with an injury with just three seconds remaining in the first half of the Dukes’ 30-27 win over Old Dominion. It would end up being his last time on the field for JMU.
After being ruled out for the remainder of the 2023 season, Wyatt briefly entered the transfer portal that offseason before opting to stick with the Dukes. However, he would not see any action in his final year at JMU. Soon after, Wyatt once again made the decision to explore his options in the portal.
“Once I reached the point where I was cleared and I kind of trusted my body and trusted the process that I went through,” he said, “I kind of was looking for more, just a little better competition, and just trying to get the most out of college football.”
While in the portal, Wyatt received interest from a number of Power 4 programs including Indiana, Houston, UCLA and Missouri among others, but chose to stay in the commonwealth at Virginia. He said it was the Hoos’ culture that drew him to the program.
“When I sat down with Coach [Elliott] and he gave me his pitch, it was very easy to buy in,” Wyatt said. “It’s very easy to get a feel for what he was going for, what he was building.”
Wyatt joins the Hoos with plenty of experience both of the FBS and FCS level from JMU, which played its first FBS season in 2022. Wyatt was a three year starter for the Dukes from 2021-23, a stretch in which JMU went 31-7.
While Wyatt was injured for JMU’s first two bowl game appearances in 2023 and 2024, he does come to Charlottesville with postseason experience, having started in JMU’s final three FCS Playoff games in 2021. But despite joining a roster that has not played in a bowl game since 2019, Wyatt said he hasn’t had to teach his teammates what a winning culture feels like.
“The mindset that these guys already had here was a very win first, aggressive mindset,” he said. “So a lot of things that you would think you would have to come here and correct or clean up, it was already kind of in motion.”
Wyatt went on to say it’s been “fun” to work with his new teammates on the offensive line, praising the coaching staff for the work they put in recruiting the new group.
“We gel very nicely and came together became pretty fast,” he said. “It’s just been a fun process.”
While competing in the ACC will certainly be a step up in his final collegiate season, Wyatt is confident in his ability to compete, and shared his mindset ahead of the upcoming season.
“Football is football,” he said. “That’s kind of been my motto. That’s been my mindset. The guys here are good, but the guys at JMU were good too. So, just keeping that mindset and understanding that technique is going to be technique regardless of wherever you go.”
