Kornacki: Lyons' Goals Include Gridiron and Beyond
5/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
May 11, 2015
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Wayne Lyons takes aim at lofty goals both on and off the football field.
Lyons, a graduate student transfer from Stanford, will play cornerback and wants to help get Michigan to the Rose Bowl he played in for the Cardinal.
His big-picture dream involves taking the degree in architectural design he'll earn from Stanford and combining it with the School of Social Work post-graduate degree he's pursuing at Michigan to create a special community.
"I want to someday build a community that has high-end technology and provides high-end resources," said Lyons. "It will be a community where people are in touch and helping one another.
"The plan began in a sophomore class project with a mentor, and my architectural background is one part of building it. Studying social work at Michigan will provide me the techniques to bring people together. There is such diversity in the world, and I want to become more well-rounded in connecting with people."
Reaching out for the common good is something Lyons has done since his days at Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He not only was the valedictorian of his class, but the president of his sophomore, junior and senior classes. And he launched the "Lyons Virtual Book Club" on Facebook to promote reading among his peers, while reaching out to younger students with a mentoring program.
Lyons also participated in prestigious U.S. Army All-American game and was recruited to Stanford by Jim Harbaugh, who became head coach of the San Francisco 49ers before Lyons began college. Now he's being reunited with Harbaugh, who was named the coach at Michigan in December.
"Coach Harbaugh recruited me and told me he had an opportunity to coach the Forty-Niners," Lyon said, "and I couldn't fault him for that. We missed each other, and now we're reunited on this team."
When asked if he thought that would ever happen, Lyons chuckled and said, "No, but it's wild how it worked out. I reached out when I saw he was the new coach at Michigan. I know how competitive he is and that's how I am. We both have a strong desire to win."
Lyons (6-1, 193 pounds) will be eligible to play this season for the Wolverines without sitting out by virtue of the NCAA's graduate student transfer rules.
He made 30 tackles (18 solos) and forced a fumble last season for Stanford and was on the Lott IMPACT Trophy watch list.
Lyons was fifth on the team with 69 tackles (41 solos) in 2013, when he registered 4 1/2 tackles for losses, two forced fumbles, two pass breakups and two interceptions. He had nine tackles against Arizona State, but said his best game came against the Fighting Irish.
"I made two interceptions and we beat Notre Dame," said Lyons, who made both his picks and broke up a pass in the pivotal fourth quarter of a 27-20 win.
He helped the Cardinal beat Arizona State in the conference championship game before playing Michigan State in Pasadena and losing, 24-20.
"What I remember most about the Rose Bowl is the interception I did not get," said Lyons. "I lost track of it and dropped it."
He was asked about coming to Michigan with the goal of another Rose Bowl appearance.
"Exactly," said Lyons, in a phone interview from Palo Alto, California. "I have a chance to make up for what I missed out on."
Lyons visited Ann Arbor in late March to cement his decision.
"Michigan has an amazing campus and Ann Arbor is a lively community," said Lyons. "Everybody is in a good mood, and the guys in the football program are all close friends.
"I'm excited to become a part of the Wolverine family. Go Blue!"
His father, Wayne, played football at Alabama A&M.
"I got my aggressiveness from him." said Lyons. "He was a linebacker."
His mother, Gwen Bush, was hired by Harbaugh as director of the program's player development. She spurred her son's interest in reading by filling the house with books, and he could read well even before kindergarten.
"My mom doing that impacted me greatly," said Lyons. "That's why I was able to go to a school like Stanford and communicate with people of intellect. Reading is what allowed me to grow. I opened up that Facebook page to encourage my friends to read and see that reading is cool. It had an impact on them, too."
His high school mentoring program was named P.A.R.T.Y. -- Pick Up Anything and Read To Yourself.
Lyons, a National Honor Society Member at Dillard, was asked if becoming valedictorian was his greatest accomplishment in high school.
"I think so," he said. "I was able to show my friends that I could be a cool kid and get my work done as well. That's a message I want to get out."
• Wolverines Announce Addition of Lyons as Graduate Transfer
