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Minnesota latest to offer Tyler

The recruitment of Brecksville (Ohio) Broadview Heights three-star Mike Tyler has picked up momentum this spring. Several new offers have come his way, including his first two from BCS schools.
"Last Tuesday at school, Minnesota came and visited," Tyler said. "They didn't watch a workout or anything, but wanted to see how my frame was developing and whether I could put on weight. Then, I was actually fishing on Friday and he gave me a call and offered me a scholarship."
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Even before the offer from Minnesota came through, Tyler had been researching the school and was intrigued by what he learned.
"I am very interested in Minnesota," Tyler said. "Right after he visited our school, I went on-line and checked it all out. What I want to study is Engineering in college, and I saw how good their Engineering program was. It's a great fit for me and it is Big Ten football, so I was really excited when I got that call from Coach."
The offer from Minnesota is for tight end, but the Gophers have also said they like the 6-foot-5, 215-pound Tyler as a defensive end. He played primarily defensive end as a junior, but is starting to receive more offers for tight end recently and has been working at the position this off-season with his quarterback, fellow Division I target Tommy Tupa.
"I wasn't expecting that just because I didn't play there much this past season," Tyler said. "But once I started throwing with Tommy I knew that I could play tight end in college."
Pittsburgh is another recent offer that is also for the tight end position. The Panthers offered earlier this month, and communication between the two parties is ongoing.
"I plan on making a visit down there June 1," Tyler said. "I am going to meet with Coach [Joe] Rudolph and check out everything with Pitt, so I'm excited for that."
Additional summer visits to both Minnesota and Pittsburgh are planned. Whether those will be for camps or just unofficial visits depends on what coaches at those schools prefer.
Tyler is just now starting to develop his camp schedule. Stops at places like Virginia Tech, Duke, Northwestern and Stanford are likely.
"Pretty much every school has said to come to camp," Tyler said. "There are a few ACC schools like Virginia, Duke and Virginia Tech along with Stanford and Northwestern that are more personal."
Holding a 3.9 GPA and already registering a 32 on his ACT, Tyler is as accomplished in the classroom as he is on the field. He holds several offers from Ivy League schools and will visit two of those programs -Yale and Dartmouth - this weekend.
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