Wayne Lyons - Defensive MVP (10th Grade) - NUC Miami

Making the Grade: "Lyons gets an A" at FBU

Football University The Campus Buzz

Football University April 24, 2009

Lyons Gets an A at FBU For Wayne Lyons, it all adds up - and he probably can show you the math formula to prove the point. A star football player on the field, the young man who won the Maxwell Award at the recent Football University in Miami is a star off the field too. Lyons is a remarkable young man who works hard and excels at seemingly everything. And the fact that his favorite classes are robotics and calculus only underscore the fact that he is a special talent in so many ways. "I study a lot and make sure I keep a balance between studying and training while at the same time having fun in my life," Lyons said. "I'm in pursuit of becoming the valedictorian of my graduation class. Currently, I am number two with a grade point average of 4.6897. By the end of the school year, I should be in position to take over the number one spot." Being number one seems to come naturally to Lyons, a 10th grader who became the first underclassman to win the Maxwell Award at Football University this year. He's a talented player with speed to burn, and he can play multiple positions on offense or defense. Pure and simple, he's a playmaker. "Wayne is a student of the game-he is able to anticipate the moves a running back will make and will hit them with bad intentions. He is skinny right now but will add lots of good weight as he gets older," said FBU instructor John Fontes, a former coach with the Detroit Lions. "Wayne is a bright young man who wants to graduate valedictorian as much as garnering a D-1 scholarship. He can do both." Doing one is a tall order, but when was the last time you heard of a major college recruit also fighting for top academic honors? This might just well be the case for Lyons. He participated in the National Underclassmen Combine (NUC) in Miami on February 21st . He made plays there too and was selected Defensive Skills MVP. He tallied great stats, having two interceptions during one-on-one and 7-on-7 play. Oh yes, and did we mention that he is sophomore class president? "Wayne is that special player whom you admire and respect," said Bill Renner, director of football with FBU. "He is a very talented player who produces results on the field, but you get to know him and realize that he is just as special off the field. He is quite a remarkable young man." Others agreed. "Wayne has got that special ability to make plays," said former NFL defensive back Bo Orlando. "He combines a terriffic work ethic with all the right tools and a great mind. Wayne has a lot of potential on the field." When he's not on the field, in the weight room, creating robots or putting his calculator to work, Lyons can be seen running track or doing volunteer work. Then, there is recruiting, which is bound to heat up for this rising star. Already, PAC-10 powerhouse Stanford is showing interest in the Florida star. His Football University experience is going to help take him to the next level. "My experience there was a great one as I learned a lot. The main things I learned was to always show great effort and while doing all of the drills to stay low and show great explosion and to always come downhill," said Lyons about attending Football University. "I really learned a lot from Coach Levon Kirkland and Coach John Fontes and look forward to working with them again at the Top Gun Showcase." The Top Gun Football Showcase highlights the best players in the nation and is hosted by Athletic Republic at their plush facility in Paisley, Florida. To learn more about Top Gun or how to nominate yourself to attend Football University, please check out Football University's website for more details!

A Family Affair

Congratulations to my sister, Danielle for being named Miss Tea Rose 1st Runner-Up.

She also received an award for having the most community service hours, 1,318. Actually, I believe she may be up to 1,400 by now. She really enjoys volunteering her time. That volunteering spirit comes from our mother as she has always told us that "it doesn't matter how much knowledge you have, how much money you make or in my case how athletic I am, if people don't know how much you CARE!"

She constantly reminds us to give back to the community. Thats why I too am very active in the community and give of my time to mentor young boys and stress the importance of getting an education.

Off-Season Activities - Track Season

Running a season best of 15.4 in the 110M Hurdles, I qualified for the Regional Track Meet to be held in Coral Springs, Florida on Thursday, April 30, 2009. Although the main purpose of me running track was for conditioning and to improve my speed, running for the first time proved to be quite successful. I need to cut down the time to under 15 seconds to qualify for the State Track Meet. I am quite happy with my performance for the year and look forward to being even better next year. More photos coming soon...

See what Former NFL Assistant Coach John Fontes had to say about Wayne's Athletic Abilities

"Wayne is a student of the game-he is able to anticipate the moves a running back will make and will hit them with bad intentions," Fontes said. "He has room to grow and will add lots of good weight as he gets older. Wayne is a bright young man who wants to graduate valedictorian as much as garnering a D-1 scholarship. He can do both."See the entire article below:

All the News U Need to Know April 10, 2009

Lyons Roars in Miami Miami is one of the hottest spots in the country for prep football. When Football University came to town a couple weeks ago, it should be no surprise that the talent level was high. Former NFL assistant coach John Fontes, along with a staff of former NFL players and coaches, selected Wayne Lyons of Dillard High School as the Maxwell Award winner when Football University came to Braddock High School in Miami. Affectionately called the "Mini-Maxwell," the award is given to the athlete who demonstrates top technical performance during the three-day, invitation-only national camp. Wayne has been described as a versatile athlete who covers the field well. He lived up to that billing. Lyons is the first underclassmen to win the Maxwell Award at a Football University experience this year. Lyons attended the three-day training experience on Friday, March 27th thru Sunday, March 29th. Coach Fontes brings years of NFL pedigree in his assessment of Lyons. "Wayne is a student of the game-he is able to anticipate the moves a running back will make and will hit them with bad intentions," Fontes said. "He has room to grow and will add lots of good weight as he gets older. Wayne is a bright young man who wants to graduate valedictorian as much as garnering a D-1 scholarship. He can do both." Lyons hopes to be valedictorian of his class and is an outstanding student, in the classroom and of the game of football. Lyons played in the secondary this past season for Dillard but his blend of speed and explosiveness coupled with good instinct will most likely see him move to linebacker. He accumulated over 95 tackles on the year in only his sophomore season. To learn more about the Maxwell Awards, click here!

FBU Maxwell Award Interview

Being Interviewed after winning the Maxwell Award was great. At the time of the interview, It still hadn't really hit me that I had actually won. I couldn't believe that I was selected as an underclassmen. Although I had a great camp, learned a lot of different techniques and skills, I just thought that the award was going to go to an offensive player. Wow! I won the same award as the college equivalent that Tim Tebow of the Florida Gators won.How amazing!

Maxwell Award Winner @ FBU Miami 2009

It was a great honor winning the "Maxwell " Outstanding Camper Award. I'm pictured here with former NFL Pro - Bo Orlando, DB Coach and former NFL kicker - Bill Renner. I had excellent linebacker coaches in Coach Levon Kirkland and Coach John Fontes. They taught me some valuable skills and techniques I plan to carry over into the spring and fall season.

Off Season Activities

To keep myself in shape and increase my agility, I participated on the Varsity Wrestling Team this year. A new experience for me, but it was fun (extremely hard work) yet enjoyable. Actually, conditioning for wrestling is much more difficult than training for football or track. Those 6 minutes seemed like 60 minutes when you're on that mat. It felt really good getting that first pin. Looking forward to being much better next year. Track season is here, and I am running the 100M hurdles as my primary event. On occasion I run the 100M dash and the 4X100M relay. Right now I am concentrating on trying to make it past the Regional Track Meet in the hurdles. This is my first year running track and I think I am doing pretty good. My goal is to make it to the State Track Meet by the end of my Junior year.

NUC Miami 2009 Interview & Highlight

Having fun doing what I do best, playing football. Check out the interview and highlights of my performance at the National Underclassmen Combine (NUC) Miami 2009 on February 21, 2009. I was selected Defensive MVP as I posted pretty good stats and made some great plays. One-Handed Interception - Noted as the "Best Play of the Day" ******** Stats for the day :********** 40: 4.55; Shuttle: 4.23; Vertical: 31"; Broad: 9'4; Bench: 155 (17 times); I made an interception in both the 1-on-1 and the 7-on-7, as shown on the video. I had so much fun, it was great. The official stats are posted on http://nationalunderclassmen.com/nucmiami09.htm

Wayne's Sophomore Varsity Highlights 2008

Find more videos like this on National Underclassmen Combine Football Network

Season Stats: Leading Tackler on #1 Defense in the County (Broward) 6A-4A

95 Tackles: 75 solo, 20 assists; 1 recovered fumble; 2 caused fumbles; 1.5 sacks; 1 deflection

Getting to know Wayne Lyons

Hi, I'm Wayne Lyons II,

son of Gwen and Wayne Lyons, Sr. I was born on September 20, 1992. As I enter the world of Blogging, I want to start out by letting you know a little about me. I am the younger of two children. I have a sister name Danielle, that I love and cherish dearly, who will be leaving for college in June. She will be attending the University of Florida. Yes, she has joined the Gator Nation like my mom who is a Gator Alum and a devoted woman of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. My Dad is a graduate of Alabama A & M University and a devoted member of

Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated.

Both of my parents are graduates of Dillard High School (DHS), along with the majority of both sides of the family. My grandmother is also a graduate of Dillard High. My grandmother has uncles that graduated from Dillard as well. So as you can see there is a strong family bond that runs deep in the Panther's Den. Actually someone in my family has attended and graduated from Dillard for seven (7) decades, starting from the 40s all the way through now. That's 70 years plus worth of Dillard Panthers in our family.

Both of my parents were stellar scholar-athletes during their time. I am a true product of my parents because, I play the same football position as my dad did (linebacker - although I may switch to safety this season) and wrestles like he did. Like my mom, I am a hurdler and a basketball player. My sister is a cheerleader like my mom was as well. Both of my parents graduated with honors from Dillard and went on to college to earn their degrees: my dad (Electrical Electronics Engineering) and my mom (Computer Information Systems). I am in the Emerging Computer Technology Magnet Program at Dillard. I am currently ranked #2 in my graduating class as I boast a 4.25 Academic Core GPA. Right now I have a 940 on the SAT that I took in October, but I will be retaking it in June to make a better score. (Got confused at the beginning and didn't start the test until 15 minutes into the test! Not sure what happened (LOL)) My goal is to graduate Valedictorian in my class of 2011, although I will be willing to pass that ranking on if I enroll in college early.

I am a member of the Student Government Association serving as Sophomore Class President. I am also a member of the National Honor Society. I serve the Lord faithfully at the New Mount Olive Baptist Church under the direction of Dr. Mack King Carter and Youth Ministry Director Reverend James "Crunch" Melton who ministers "Teen Time " Church every third Sunday. I was also selected "Mr. Sophomore" for Homecoming. All - in - All, this has been a great year.

Come back soon to hear about my high school football career.......