Ohio's Future Stars' Hidden Gems series continues today with a look at Andrew
Tyson, a linebacker/tight end who plays for the North Ridgeville Rangers.
North Ridgeville is a town located in the talent-rich part of the state that is
Northeast Ohio, but the Rangers often find the odds stacked against them during
their football games. Despite that, Andrew Tyson has made himself a player
to keep an eye on.
The Rangers play in the Pioneer Conference, which is one of the stronger conferences in the Cleveland
area. You may recognize the names -- Strongsville, Berea, Midpark,
Brunswick, Medina -- as they are schools that are known in the Cleveland area as
ones that have won their share of football games in the past. North
Ridgeville is the only Division II school in that conference, and during Coach
Weisner's time at the school (1999-2001), they have only been Division II by no
more than 15 boys. The other schools in the conference are all Division I
and field an average of 85 varsity players as opposed to an average of 35
varsity players for North Ridgeville. As a result, North Ridgeville has
struggled recently, only winning 10 total games over the past three years. "The deck's stacked against us," said Coach Jeff
Weisner.
However, that hasn't stopped Andrew Tyson from emerging as one of the top players in
his area.
Andrew is 6-3, 228 pounds and is still growing. "I am a big player with size and
strength and I can react quickly," Andrew said.
Many people may not realize Andrew is that big though as Coach Weisner said
he played last season at 6-1, 205 pounds. The size runs in the family
though as Andrew's father played football
at Ohio University and is a big man at 6-6 and 280 pounds. The good news
is that Andrew may continue to follow suit as Coach Weisner said,
"As much time as Andrew spends in the weight room, I will not be surprised
if he gets as large as his father."
In addition to size, Andrew proved last season that he possesses a great deal
of toughness. "Most athletes get bumps and bruises
playing in the game," Coach Weisner said. "Going into (the 2001
season), Andrew was diagnosed with a hernia. As you might expect, he was
petrified that he may miss some or all of the season. After seeing two
specialists, it was determined that the hernia was probably cased due to his
growth spurts and could not get any worse if the operation was postponed until
after the season. Andrew played the entire season with the hernia.
Immediately after football, Andrew had the hernia repaired, missing a mere three
weeks of the basketball season."
The hernia didn't stop Andrew from having a big season. He led the team
in tackles (115), had 2 sacks and 13 TFL and was one of six players who never came off the field. Andrew
also helped out by moving from TE (where he had nine receptions for 124 yards and 4 TD) to the offensive line (graded at 90% over five games) to compensate for the lack of linemen.
Both Andrew and Coach
Weisner said that Andrew's overall speed and lateral movement are the areas of
his game he needs to work on, but if he continues to improve in those areas, Coach Weisner
feels that Andrew could play for any of the MAC schools or even a Big Ten
school. The size and strength are already there, and as Coach Weisner put
it, "(Andrew) already hits like a Mack truck."
Andrew is being recruited by most of the MAC schools (Coach Weisner said that
Ohio, Kent State, Akron, Bowling Green, and Central Michigan have shown the most
interest, while Buffallo, Western Michigan, and Eastern Michigan have also
inquired) and Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Lehigh, Ohio State, West Virginia, and
Missouri have shown a bit of interest as well. Some of those schools have made Andrew's top five as he says
that Bowling Green currently leads over Ohio, Kent State, Akron, and Eastern
Michigan. Andrew lists a winning team
and a scholarship offer as his two most important factors in choosing a school,
and he feels Bowling Green has shown to be a good place to win. "The thing I like about BG," Andrew said, "is the fact
that they had a winning season last year and how they all swarm to the ball on
defense."
Andrew comes from a great family and is a model citizen off the field.
He has maintained marks over 3.0 in his college prep curriculum and aims to get
a 3.5 this coming year. "Andrew's personality, drive, coachability,
and commitment make him a great student-athlete," Coach Weisner said.
"If I had a teenage daughter, I would not hesitate in permitting Andrew to
date her."
Andrew will be out at camps all summer (he wants to make as many MAC camps as
possible and will be at Bowling Green's overnight camp) and will continue to
work hard to try and earn a scholarship offer. Coach Weisner definitely
recommends to all the schools out there that they give Andrew a look.
"Andrew WILL be an asset to the coach, team, and institution he
attends," Coach Weisner said. "If I were fortunate to be a
collegiate level head coach, Andrew would make our team better as a player and
our team better as a person."
Right now, we have Andrew as one of Ohio's "Hidden Gems," but if he
keeps up the hard work, he won't be hidden much longer!