Wayne State University Athletics

Football 3/11/2024 2:25:00 PM Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Wheatley Selected For Induction Into NFHS Hall of Fame

DETROIT -- Wayne State University head football coach Tyrone Wheatley has been selected for induction into the National Federation of State High School Associations National Hall of Fame as announced earlier this afternoon.

Wheatley becomes just the ninth person from Michigan so honored, and the second with WSU ties joining former softball coach Diane Laffey (2000 inductee), who coached the Tartars from 1978 through 1981. The other eight from Michigan are Ken Beardslee (2016), Jim Johnson (2007), Jack Roberts (2022), Charles Forsythe (1983), Rich Jordan (2001), Brad Van Pelt (2011), Lofton Greene (1986) and Bob Wood (2005).

From the NFHS Release:

Four outstanding former high school athletes highlight the 2024 class of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) National High School Hall of Fame.

Tyrone Wheatley was one of the top multi-sport athletes in Michigan high school sports history during his days at Dearborn Heights Robichaud High School in Dearborn, Michigan. When it came to the sports of football, basketball, and track and field, few have achieved the level of Tyrone Wheatley.

In three seasons as a running back on the football team, Wheatley ran for 4,257 yards and 67 touchdowns, including 2,010 yards and 33 touchdowns as a senior in 1990. That season, in addition to his duties as running back, Wheatley also played quarterback at times, defensive back and was the punter, kicker and kick returner. He led Robichaud to its only state championship in 1990, when he ran for 168 yards, three touchdowns, kicked three extra points, punted and made 13 tackles in the title game.

In basketball, he averaged 14 points and 16 rebounds as a senior and was honorable mention on the All-Metro Detroit team that included Chris Webber, Jalen Rose and Voshon Lenard on the first team.

While his football and basketball accomplishments were exceptional, he took track and field to yet another level. In perhaps the most dominant track career of any Michigan high school athlete, Wheatley won nine Michigan High School Athletic Association individual championships in his final three years.

As a sophomore, he broke a state finals record that had stood for 17 years with a 23-10¾ effort in the long jump, and he tied the Class B meet record with a 10.5 clocking in the 100 meters.

In his unprecedented junior season, Wheatley became the first Michigan athlete in 38 years to win four titles (100, 200, 110 hurdles, long jump) and scored 40 of his team's 49 points to help Robichaud to the Class B title.

Wheatley completed his high school track career in 1991 with three additional Class B individual titles, winning the long jump and 100 meters for the third consecutive year, along with the 110 hurdles.

According to Mick McCabe, who has been covering high school sports for the Detroit Free Press for more than 50 years, Wheatley was at the top of the all-time list.

". . . I have covered every high-level athlete in the state. Earvin (Magic) Johnson, Derek Jeter, Dathan Ritzenhein, Dena Head, Jerome Bettis, Shane Battier, Antonio Gates, Jalen Rose, Charles Rogers, Rickea Jackson, Dan Majerle . . . But of all the great athletes Michigan has produced over the last 50 years, one stands above the rest: Tyrone Wheatley."

Wheatley was a consensus all-state football selection as a defensive back as a junior in 1989 and running back as a senior in 1990. He was named to the Parade All-American team as a defensive back in 1990.

Wheatley continued his multiple-sport career at the University of Michigan, where, in football, he ran for 4,178 yards and scored 53 touchdowns. He ranks fifth on the Wolverines' career rushing list. In track and field, he was Big Ten Conference outdoor champion and All-American while earning three letters.

Wheatley was drafted in the first round of the 1995 NFL Draft by the New York Giants and played 10 years, concluding his career with the Oakland Raiders. His best season was 2000 with Oakland when he rushed for 1,046 yards and scored nine touchdowns.

After several coaching stops after his playing career, Wheatley recently completed his first season as head football coach at Wayne State University in Detroit.

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