Former Michigan Wolverines’ star Tyrone Wheatley is returning home as the new head football coach of the Wayne State Warriors.
Late last week, Wheatley was announced as the new football coach for the DII NCAA program that competes in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference (GLIAC).
“I am beyond excited to welcome Coach Wheatley and his family to the Wayne State community,” said University Interim Director of Athletics Erika Wallace. “Coach Wheatley has a passion for developing the student-athlete not only on the field, but off. His ability to mentor men, develop talent, and recruit will elevate our football program. I’m looking forward to watching his leadership as he guides our Warrior student-athletes into a new era.”
Wheatley, who is a Michigan native and starred at Dearborn Heights Robichaud High School, chose to play for Michigan and became a 3x Big Ten player for the Wolverines. He was also a track star for the university, becoming the Big Ten 100m hurdles champ in 1994.
After dominating the Big Ten, the Giants selected Wheatley with the 17th overall pick in the 1995 NFL Draft. He played for New York for four seasons before playing his final six with the Raiders.
After retiring, Wheatley became a high school at Robichaud High School and then transitioned to the collegiate coaching ranks in 2008 as the running backs coach at Ohio Northern University.
Then it was on to Eastern Michigan and Syracuse in the same capacity. In 2013, he moved up to the NFL as the running backs coach for the Bills for a year before going back to Michigan and then back to the NFL with the Jaguars. Then in 2019, he became the head coach of the Morgan State Bears, an HBCU program, for two years. Afterward, he went to the Broncos for a year before Wayne State called.
Now he’s back in his home state where it all started.
“First of all I would like to thank Wayne State University, President M. Roy Wilson and athletic director Erika Wallace for the opportunity to lead a great university and its football team,” said Wheatley.
“Throughout the interview process, Mrs. Wallace showed that Wayne State was well prepared and very detailed in what they wanted in the football program and the direction of the athletic department. This made me really excited about the job. I am looking forward to coming home, as they always say there is no place like home. No matter where I have been, I’ve always tried to recruit the state of Michigan and the city of Detroit. I am pleased, honored and blessed to be back home and to coach at Wayne State University.”
Welcome home Tyrone!
