'11 FL S Wayne Lyons (Stanford Verbal)

[ND86]

any news on this kid, or is nd going in a different direction with safeties?

 

[simets99]

any news on this kid, or is nd going in a different direction with safeties?

I don't think he has much interest in ND. Seems to be favoring Florida.

 

[BGIF]

Talking Recruiting with Lyons | soflafootball.com

Laura McKeeman

4/22

BC and UNC have offered.

Does not have a Top 5. May make a Top 15 List later this Spring.

Academically he can go anywhere he wants. 4.8 GPA and a Harvard offer.

When asked about schools in Florida, Lyons lights up. Starting with UF, his sister and mom went to Florida so he has some family ties there.
“I get to see my sister. We don’t even talk about football, we just kick it and relax and laugh,” Lyons chuckled.
As for Miami, Lyons is excited about some things Canes head coach Randy Shannon told him.
“He said I’m real high on their prospect board right now. He (Randy Shannon) is real impressed. I didn’t know it was that small of a campus.”

Keep in mind this is a So Florida recruiting service.

 

[BGIF]

One of nation's top DBs gets 43rd offer

<META name=title content="One of nation's top DBs gets 43rd offer" itxtvisited="1"><META name=description content="By Brian McLaughlin" itxtvisited="1">By Brian McLaughlin Sporting News
May 3

Texas Tech has offered giving Lyons 43 offers including Alabama, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Miami, Ohio State, Notre Dame and USC and some Ivy League schools.

Lyons anticipates that the offer parade may not end until June. The spring evaluation period for college coaches is April 15-May 31.

“I guess until the spring is over, I won’t know the final count,” Lyons told Sporting News. “Spring ball officially started May 1st. I can’t wait to hit somebody."

 

[NDinL.A.]

Per ISD, Lyons has sent out a list of 50 questions to each school that has offered him. The list includes questions pertaining to issues such as grad rates, grad rates for African American players, the architecture program (I think that was his possible major) and how many football players are in that major, etc. This kid is a STUDENT-athlete and obviously he means business.

Oh, and the 1st 2 schools to answer? Northwestern, and Notre Dame of course. Different coaches answered the questions, including Brian Kelly.

Lyons was impressed and is very interested in Notre Dame, among many other schools...

 

[aubeirish]

Per ISD, Lyons has sent out a list of 50 questions to each school that has offered him. The list includes questions pertaining to issues such as grad rates, grad rates for African American players, the architecture program (I think that was his possible major) and how many football players are in that major, etc. This kid is a STUDENT-athlete and obviously he means business.

Oh, and the 1st 2 schools to answer? Northwestern, and Notre Dame of course. Different coaches answered the questions, including Brian Kelly.

Lyons was impressed and is very interested in Notre Dame, among many other schools...

Thank you. That's got to be good news. Just seems like a kid that would flourish to his full potential at Notre Dame.

 

[jason_h537]

Nd has been in with Lyons for a while now and he really seems interested in Acadamics. Hopefully the connections to Florida will not be a factor. My favorite player so far

 

[WhoDeyIrish]

Notre Dame seems to be the favorite of this guy. Just my opinion. Would love to add him to our secondary. Like this guy a lot.

 

[aubeirish]

I think that the personality of BK and staff will be a big draw for him along with the academics obviously. This is a big fish in the sea and our odds are looking very good thus far.

 

[Ironman8]

Great article on him at the link:

College Football Recruiting: Wayne Lyons takes studied approach to recruiting - ESPN

Notre Dame was one of the many schools that impressed the family with their answers. Assistant coach Mike Elston filled out most of it, but he got some assistance from head coach Brian Kelly.

"They were very impressive and very detailed," Bush said. "There was a lot of interest from them. Wayne has already visited Notre Dame, so as he read the answers to the questions, it helped Wayne refer more to what he saw and helped get a better feel for the new coaching staff. By Coach Elston just using those questions, Wayne has a better idea of how Coach Kelly's philosophy is going to fit in with what he was already introduced to at Notre Dame. Even part of the questions Coach Kelly answered himself, and they did a really good job, and it's a really good school."

Some schools didn't fare so well.

"Yes, there have been a few," Bush said. "There were some schools that did not reply back. Not many, only a handful."

"The school I choose, I want it to be a good school degree-wise, graduation-rate-wise, good winning prestige, program prestige, coaching prestige, and playing time is also going to factor in."

Besides Notre Dame, Lyons has taken visits to Florida, where his mother attended school, Stanford, Miami, South Florida, Ohio State and Maryland. This summer, he's hoping to make it out to USC and UCLA, and he hasn't ruled out a second trip to Notre Dame. He camped in South Bend before his junior year.

"If I can't get there during the summer, I'm definitely going there on an official [visit]," Lyons said.

The previous Notre Dame coaching staff offered Lyons on Sept. 1, the first day high school juniors could be formally extended a written full ride. The new staff got its hands on Lyons' film, and it's been a collective effort led by Elston to recruit him.



"I've talked to the whole staff," Lyons said. "They're all up-tempo and excited about the season. I'm impressed with them.

"Coach Kelly was real excited about me, and he said I could come in and make plays. He saw my film and said I'd have a great chance to come in early and play.

"[Defensive backs] coach [Chuck] Martin was saying pretty much the same stuff. He was saying he could play me at cornerback because I have the footwork and cover skills to play one-on-one, and he said I could play in the box and come up and support the run, and I could also be a deep safety and play broad."

More at the link

 

[TerryTate]

Alabama, Notre Dame covet blue-chip student athlete Wayne Lyons - Andy Staples - SI.com

SI finally picked up on Lyons. He seems like the prototypical Notre Dame student-athlete. He would be a massive pull.

 

[fitz_bu47]

Wanted him bad before I read that, now it will hurt really bad if we don't get him. Great kid, great mom, wherever he goes they are lucky.

 

[IrishInFl]

5.0 GPA? I hope he doesn't pull a Myron Rolle and go to a completely inferior academic school like FSU.

 

[BirdmanND06]

5.0 GPA? I hope he doesn't pull a Myron Rolle and go to a completely inferior academic school like FSU.

I would not be overly surprised to see this happen. Rolle went to F$U so he could graduate in three years and become a Rhodes scholar.

Lyons has family connections to Florida, and I would not be at all surprised to see him go there to try and do something similar.

 

[The Polish Irishman]

The major obstacle for Lyons is distance and weather. I hope Academics and Early PT can outweigh them.

 

[DirtySecret]

Lets hope his not a Myron Rolle..

 

[jason_h537]

Lets hope his not a Myron Rolle..

a Rhodes Scholar?

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

a Rhodes Scholar?

I'm guessing he met... a Rhodes Scholar that goes to a school where most of the athletes don't even know how to spell "scholar"...

 

[TerryTate]

I'm guessing he met... a Rhodes Scholar that goes to a school where most of the athletes don't even know how to spell "scholar"...

well played

 

[DirtySecret]

a Rhodes Scholar?

With respect to Myron Rolle, I never could figure out why he chose FSU other than he liked the climate, or simply wanted to be a very big academic fish in a scholastically challenged pond.

I'm guessing he met... a Rhodes Scholar that goes to a school where most of the athletes don't even know how to spell "scholar"...

 

[Irish4Life09]

I just got an update on twitter that Lyons was on ESPN First Take this morning....did anyone get to watch it? If so,what happened?

 

[irishmarine]

I am warchin it on the west coast feed and it is about to come on. They mentioned something as a teaser saying the best way o ge this kid attention is through his mom. Saying that if they want him the have to sell his mom on the school.

 

[irish4ever]

I am warchin it on the west coast feed and it is about to come on. They mentioned something as a teaser saying the best way o ge this kid attention is through his mom. Saying that if they want him the have to sell his mom on the school.

If that's all it takes, he's all ND! Moms just LOVE ND!!!

 

[BirdmanND06]

I saw his interview on ESPN and I just don't see this kid ending up Irish. Good luck to him wherever he goes.

 

[DirtySecret]

YouTube - 50 Questions From Wayne Lyons

 

[TerryTate]

I had high hopes for Lyons until I saw the first question on his list was about the weather during football season.

 

[DirtySecret]

I had high hopes for Lyons until I saw the first question on his list was about the weather during football season.

Like I said Myron Rolle...

 

[dshans]

"Afraid of the cold"??? Is this kid not aware of the collegiate and NFL teams that play in cold weather in open air stadiums? What the hell? He should watch tape of the 1979 Cotton Bowl. It ain't always warm and sunny in Dallas!

I went to South Bend from Orlando in 1970 with the three gifts my parents got me for high school graduation — a suitcase for my clothes, an alarm clock to get my skinny ass up for class and a pea coat for the cold. I got boots suitable for snow as a Christmas present my freshman year. I had to buy my own damn gloves, thank you very much!

A full scholarship gets him tuition, room and board. Oh ... and books, no doubt.

Hoodies? Sheesh!

 

[irish4ever]

"Afraid of the cold"??? ....

I went to South Bend from Orlando in 1970 with the three gifts my parents got me for high school graduation — a suitcase for my clothes, an alarm clock to get my skinny ass up for class and a pea coat for the cold. I got boots suitable for snow as a Christmas present my freshman year. I had to buy my own damn gloves, thank you very much!

The cold weather change must have worked for you .... Orlando to South Bend to Minneapolis! Maybe YOU should talk to Lyons to convince him that "cold" weather is not all that bad!

 

[DirtySecret]

Scout.com: The 4.9-Star Safety

Some prospects talk academics and some mean it. In the case of Wayne Lyons of Ft. Lauderdale (FL) Dillard, he really, really, really means it. You have heard of 4-star players and 5-star players, how about 4.9 stars, as in grade point average. When Wayne Lyons says school is important to him, well, he means it. His pursuit to be the best starts in class and may mean he won't graduate early.

Wayne Lyons is an all-star safety and has the pick of college football programs at his disposal. If football wasn't around for him, he would still have the pick of schools at his disposal. His classroom ability wouldn't certainly allow him to enroll early at whatever school he chooses, however that same ability may force a choice to stay in school an extra semester.

“I may come early, but if I can't be the valedictorian then I will probably stay and finish,” Lyons said of his perplexing situation.
The 4.9 GPA means he is taking a rigorous load of college level classes already. As a matter of fact, Lyons will show up at college with a year and a half of college credits under his belt. Math is what drives him along with a family of scholars.

“I should have 48 college credits done when I show up for school,” he said. “I like math, I just picked up on it because my dad is an engineer and my mom was real good in school also. My sister was third in her class. She is studying Health Science (at the University of Florida).”

Five of the college programs that sit atop his list right now include Stanford, UCLA, LSU, Florida State, and Florida. He talked about each.
Stanford: “I went to Stanford last year when they played Washington. I had a good visit.”

UCLA: “It is a good school. They are out there in Hollywood, and it is a good academic school.”

LSU: “Coach (Billy Gonzales) is calling me from LSU. They are selling Patrick Johnson to me. They want me to come in as a safety, but if I come in early I may play some corner.”

Friday Lyons visited Florida State for a one day camp. After talking with him, he was surprised at how much he enjoyed himself and was talking to the Florida State staff moments before I called.

“I was talking to them about how the camp went,” he said of his conversation with the Seminole staff. “I was up there for the one day camp on Friday. I had a good time up there and knew some people up there. Coach Stoops coaches the safeties. He is a real good dude. He coaches a lot of great players and has a lot of great safeties in the league.”

Lyons went with a friend from Ft. Lauderdale. Offensive lineman Bobby Hart is one prospect that is very high on Florida State.

“I had a good time with the players and went out a little bit...Bobby Hart and two of the defensive linemen,” he said. “We went to a little party. Tallahassee was good, they have a good campus and a good weight room.”

The visit also included a session with Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher.

“I had a good talk with Coach Fisher,” Lyons said. “He said that even though they have a lot of defensive backs they really want me and I am one of their top priorities. I shouldn't let it discourage me.”

He talked highly of the FSU program.

“I liked it, it is a good school,” he said. “It opened my eyes because of all the guys that are already committed, they are pretty good.”

There are a few ties to the University of Florida and Lyons. His sister attends school there and his parents went to school there. He gets a chance often to visit the campus.

“I was at Florida when I came by to pick up my sister about a month ago and I stopped to talk to the coaches,” he said. “I talk to the coaches at Florida a lot.”

Teryl Austin is Florida's new defensive coordinator and has already been big with some of the 2011 prospects with his time spent coaching in the NFL. Safety Coach Chuck Heater has also made an impression on Lyons.

“Coach Austin is a real cool dude, he's real nice and real high energy,” Lyons said. “Coach Heater is a good coach also, I really like him.”

Zach Azzanni recruits Broward County and is responsible for the recruitment of Lyons. Azzanni is popular among prospects as they like his sense of humor.

“Coach Azzanni...I love Coach Z,” Lyons said. “I talk to him almost every day. He is a funny dude and is always joking.

Lyons gave one example of the humor Azzanni throws at the prospects.

“When I was coming back from FSU, he said 'don't tell me you stopped at the school out west',” Lyons said quoting Azzanni.

The Gators have really grown to love Lyons' ability to play football. They have explained to him exactly what they like about his game.

“They like my ability to fly around the ball and make plays on the ball,” he said. “They are running a lot of nickel, because a lot of teams are passing the ball. That will get another defensive back on the field.”

It is going to be a little while before Lyons makes the college choice that many are anticipating.

“I will make a decision after my five visits, I will take them during the season,” he said. “I will pick the school that feels better to me, that I am more comfortable with, and feel better at.”

Just remember this article was written by a Gator site with a Gator slant. I just can't fathom LSU's undergraduate education made his top 5 when he said himself "he is high on academics."