Rivals Rewind: Tyler followed own path to USC
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Former five-star running back Marc Tyler grew up around football. His
father, Wendell Tyler, was a star running back at UCLA and later played
in two Super Bowls. Marc, a five-star in the Class of 2007, had the potential to
accomplish similar feats until an injury during his senior season in high school
quickly made his path much more difficult.
Tyler's injury occurred on a horse-collar tackle during a playoff game in his
senior season at Westlake Village (Cali.) Oaks Christian, where his teammates
included Jimmy Clausen and many other big-time prospects. Breaking his
tibia and fibula, Tyler required a surgery that required a stainless steel rod
be inserted into his leg. Having already been committed to USC at the time of
his injury, Tyler faced an uphill battle to get onto the playing field.
"It was a major setback," said Tyler. "I still have the rod in my leg today and
my leg still sometimes hurts. But that definitely set me back and kind of messed
with my speed and cutting ability. During that time, going to a college like USC
and not being 100-percent for three years hurt me. It kind of messed up my
confidence, so it definitely set me back."
Tyler's decision to attend USC came as a surprise to many. With his father
playing his college ball at rival UCLA and with the Trojans stockpiling elite
running back talent to an absurd level during that time, people wondered why
Tyler would also choose USC.
"Now that I look back at it I think we were all a little bit crazy to all go to
the same school," Tyler said. "But at that time I felt like I could
compete with anyone so I didn't really care. I just wanted to go there and
compete. Coach (Pete) Carroll was a really good salesman and he got us
all there. We all felt we were the best one. Unfortunately I hurt my leg, which
kind of set me back two to three years, so I didn't really get a chance to play
at first."
Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell isn't surprised to
hear an older and more mature Tyler talk about that full house of running back
talent at USC.
"It's good for guys like Marc to come out and say maybe he and they were a bit
crazy to all go to the same school because I think it hurt many careers," said
Farrell. "Tyler came in with another five-star in Joe McKnight and a
four-star in Broderick Green and this was following the 2006 class that
had five-star Allen Bradford who ended up playing running back, five-star Stafon Johnson and four-stars Emmanuel Moody, Kenny Ashley and Stanley Havili. Now all of these guys were different
backs but it was just insane. Before the injury though, I would put Tyler right
behind McKnight for pure talent. The injury really destroyed his career, but the
running back situation was a mess as well."
It was during Tyler's first game experience at USC as a recruit when he knew
that he wanted to become a Trojan.
"I went to high school with Clay Matthews' younger brother Casey Matthews," said Tyler. "Mr. Matthews (former NFL All-Pro Clay Matthews
Jr.) was my running backs coach and they took me to my first USC game during
my sophomore year in high school. I think LenDale White and Reggie Bush were sophomores. I remember them playing and that was my first USC
game. I got my first USC t-shirt at the game and I was afraid to put it on, but
that's when I fell in love with USC. At that time when coach Carroll and his
coaching staff would come on campus it was like the greatest thing in the world. Karl Dorrell was the UCLA coach back then and they didn't really recruit
me that hard. We kind of wondered why, but he wasn't as good of a recruiter as
coach Carroll."
Farrell still scratches his head at UCLA's efforts for Tyler.
"I don't know, maybe they just weren't that high on him for some reason but for
a kid that talented to be the son of an alum and not feel as wanted as your
cross-town rival, that makes no sense," said Farrell. "This isn't a shot at
coach Dorrell or the staff because Marc didn't pan out because of his injury so
no harm, no foul -- but it was still very odd."
While at UCLA, Wendell Tyler rushed for 3,181 yards and 20 touchdowns in his four
seasons, which included being named third-team All-American after the 1976
season. Many people assumed that he wanted his son to follow his path, but in
fact he had other priorities for Marc.
"He didn't care where I went to school," said Tyler. "He just wanted me to go
somewhere where I could get a good education and graduate. He always told me
that football doesn't last forever; especially playing running back you can get
hurt at any time. He just wanted me to go to a good school, graduate and play if
I had the chance."
Tyler did have the unique opportunity to grow up around some of the greats of
the NFL, which he still remembers fondly.
"My dad retired before I was born, but football was definitely my No. 1 love,"
said Tyler. "Even though I was little he still took me to the 49ers camp so I
got a chance to hang out with Joe Montana and Jerry Rice. Even
when I was in high school and college I still talked to Roger Craig, who
was someone who was very important in my life and helped me out. Just being
around those guys definitely helped."
Looking back at his recruiting process today, Tyler, who committed to USC almost
eight months before National Signing Day, may have changed a few things.
"I guess I definitely would've had more fun with it (the recruiting process),"
said Tyler "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. At that time I was just a
high school kid who wanted to hang out with his friends. I didn't even want to
take all of my visits. I wish I would've taken all of my visits and gotten the
chance to experience all of the schools, all the different fan bases and get all
of the five-star treatment."
As Tyler already mentioned, a big part of the prestige of USC during that time
was Pete Carroll.
"He's definitely energetic," said Tyler. "He was a great salesman and a great
coach. He'd come into your house, and your parents, your grandparents, everyone
would love him. When he came on campus, it was like a superstar on campus. USC
coaches at that time were on a roll. Everyone fell in love with them and wanted
to go there."
Farrell feels Carroll was one of the best recruiting head coaches in the history
of football.
"You have to remember that until recently, the last 20 years or so, head coaches
weren't nearly as involved in the recruiting process on a day-to-day basis,"
said Farrell. "Pete Carroll came into USC, which was a down program, and his
recruiting energy and the staff he assembled made all the difference. Within a
couple of years an offer from USC was the biggest offer you could get and I'd
put him up there with Urban Meyer and Nick Saban as the best
pure recruiters I've seen in my career."
After rushing for 1,751 yards and 15 touchdowns during his four-year USC career,
Tyler went undrafted and signed a free-agent deal with the Green Bay Packers. A
short stint on the practice squad was followed by a tryout with the Houston
Texans, which did not result in a signing. Up next was the realization that a
career in the NFL was likely not in the cards.
"It's definitely a tough transition," said Tyler. "It's probably the hardest
thing. Once you're done playing football a lot of people who loved you and
wanted to talk to you, they all go away. Going into the job world is hard. I
wish that I would've listened to the people who told me to have my Plan B ready
ahead of time. When football is done, the real world is real hard. I see a lot
of guys who play sports in college who don't think about what they want to do
after and we don't have experience for a lot of these jobs, besides sports jobs.
So it's a real tough transition."
Tyler acknowledged that he is currently still adjusting to this transitional
phase.
"I worked a couple of little jobs," he said. "Coach Sark (Sarkisian) had me come
back and I helped out in the recruiting department at USC's football offices so
I was doing that for a couple of months, but they didn't have an opening for me
to get hired permanently. I got some experience up there. I'm just trying to
figure out what I want to do still. Working in football would be the easiest
transition, but I'm looking at a lot of different things. But the hardest thing
is not having experience. So I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to
do. Coaching and recruiting is definitely something I would love to do."
Tyler and Coach Sarkisian actually have a relationship that goes back a decade
now.
"Coach Sark was actually my main recruiter coming out of high school so I'm
really close to him. He's a great recruiter and he's proven that," said Tyler.
"They (USC) should be pretty good this year, I'm excited."
Tyler has experienced a great deal over the last 10 years, so when asked to
share any advice he would have for today's top recruits, his answer is
understandable.
"First of all I'd tell him to play baseball," said Tyler,
laughing. "I'd just
tell him to pick the school that he feels most comfortable at, just like my dad
told me. Education is first and football doesn't last forever. I would probably
want him to go to USC. The alumni association is good. My dad had a lot of
friends who went to USC when he was playing back in the day and he saw how the
alumni were taken care of. I would just tell him to follow his heart."