Former NFL star Tyrone Wheatley named assistant football coach at Ohio Northern

Tyrone Wheatley

By Tim Glon

ADA — Former NFL and University of Michigan standout Tyrone Wheatley will serve as an assistant football coach at Ohio Northern for the 2008 season.

Wheatley will coach the Polar Bear running backs this fall as part of the NFL’s Minority Coaching Fellowship program.

“We are thrilled to have Tyrone on our coaching staff this season,” ONU head coach Dean Paul said. “Obviously he brings a great deal of experience and knowledge to the program. He will have an impact on our young men, especially our running backs.”

Senior three-time All-Ohio Athletic Conference and All-North Region tailback R.J. Meadows leads the list of Polar Bear ball-carriers this fall.

Wheatley comes to Ohio Northern after coaching stints with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the University of Michigan and Dearborn Heights (Mich.) Robichaud High School since retiring from the NFL after the 2004 season.

“I’m very excited to be at Ohio Northern,” Wheatley said. “I’m excited to be part of a program that has been successful and hoping to move from ‘good’ to ‘great’. I’m looking forward to coaching a lot of guys. X’s and O’s are easy, but I’m looking forward to learning the administrative and organizational part of coaching 150 players.

“The young men in this program are terrific. There is no scholarship money, no ESPN, and these guys are working their tails off. They are playing for the love of the game and that’s wonderful.”

In four seasons with the New York Giants and Oakland Raiders, he rushed for 4,962 yards and 40 touchdowns.

At the University of Michigan, Wheatley rushed for 4,178 yards and a 47 touchdowns in his four-year career. He was a three-time All-Big Ten honoree in football (1992-94) and in track and field (1993-95) and was the 1993 Rose Bowl MVP.

No. 16-ranked Ohio Northern returns 14 starters and 39 lettermen from last year’s squad that went 7-3 and will open its 2008 season Sept. 13 at No. 8-ranked North Central (Ill.).