Teammate bonds and family ties weren't strong enough to sway Oaks Christian's Marc Tyler from following his heart.
Stiff arming the recruiting efforts of his quarterback to follow him to Notre Dame, Tyler has committed to play football at USC in 2007. The 6-foot, 215-pound running back will make his official announcement today at 1:05 p.m. on ESPNU.
"USC just felt right," Tyler said. "I knew for about a year that I really wanted to go there. I gave Notre Dame a look, but the only way I would leave California is for something special, and there was nothing really special out there for me." Tyler is the second player from Oaks Christian?s talented '07 class to commit to a major Division I program. Quarterback Jimmy Clausen announced in April he will attend Notre Dame.
Tyler was at the news conference in South Bend, Ind., when Clausen revealed his decision at the College Football Hall of Fame just hours before the Irish?s annual spring game.
"He wanted me at Notre Dame with him obviously, but in the end he wanted me to do what is best for me and what made me comfortable," said Tyler, who lives with the Clausen family during the school year.
Ranked as one of the top three running backs in the country by most scouting services, Tyler led the area in rushing yardage (2,193) and touchdowns (39) last season as Oaks Christian captured its third consecutive CIF-Southern Section Division XI championship.
Tyler is the son of former NFL Pro Bowl selection Wendell Tyler, who starred at UCLA during the 1970s. But the Bruins were never high on the younger Tyler's list of options.
"That was the last school that started recruiting me," he said. "I liked UCLA growing up, but they didn't recruit me hard and I didn't want to go there anyway." USC coach Pete Carroll made a visit to Oaks Christian to watch Tyler practice before the start of his sophomore season.
"That was a big thing for me to have them look at me so young," Tyler said.
"And being around their campus and hanging out with the coaches and players, I felt comfortable. The intensity level is great over there. Anybody can go in there and compete, and that is what I like to do." Tyler went to USC on Monday to inform Carroll and the staff of his decision.
Carroll isn?t allowed to comment on Tyler until the future Trojan signs a letter of intent.
"They were really excited," Tyler said. "They just said that they liked me out of the backfield and as a power back. They don't look at me like a LenDale White type of back. They see me as a back that has a little more versatility and can catch the ball out of the backfield." With eight other potential Division I Oaks Christian recruits still weighing their decisions, keeping the players focused on the upcoming season is a big priority for coach Bill Redell.
"It's been kind of a juggling act, but let's put it this way, it's more fun than not having them," Redell said. "These kids have their heads on right. I would like to see them all commit before the summer is over, but I don't think their attitude will be 'I got mine, and I am going to coast through the season.' I think they want to try to finish with the best possible team." Tyler wrote a recent diary entry for ESPN.com, but having the network cameras come to Oaks Christian this afternoon for his announcement doesn?t thrill him much.
"I have been through this all, and it's not really exciting anymore," he said. ?It's kind of exciting, but at the same time it's kind of old."
Source: Ventura County Star
