SS Recruit Wayne Lyons
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/andy_staples/05/17/wayne-…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBHmJ7a1xXw
Hope Michigan makes the final cut. If he is serious about academics Michigan has to make the final cut. We have one of the best engineering schools in the country. Patrick Omameh has shown that soneone can play football and major in engieering (though I have no clue how he is able to pull that off).
Lyons is amazing, on and especially off the field. His Mom has guided him well
Kudos to him. Sounds like a real hard worker. As far as Lyons goes, lets hope we can get him. Because not only is he a standout football player at a position we need talent and depth at, but he's a standout in the classroom as well.
Great football skills+Academic scholar= Sky's the limit.
It was as rigorous in terms of work load as any other undergrad program on campus and some grad programs to boot, and there were a few football players in the program while I was there. I don't know how in hell they did it, other than by being incredibly focused and disciplined. Anybody who automatically thinks that all the guys on the team are coasting doesn't know what the hell they're talking about.
To major in engineering and play football is almost impossible - kudos to anyone who succeeds. The time to complete many of the projects required in engineering courses doesn't allow for much of anything else. Lots of brains and a tremendous amount of self discipline is a prerequisite if you expect to succeed.
Is there a better school than Michigan, especially when history is considered, for engineering + football? I don't think so.
Although I have my doubts as to just how many recruits see North Campus, for anyone interested in engineering, it is a very impressive place to visit. It is larger, by itself, than many universities. Now, with the annexation of the Pfizer facility, if you are interested in engineering and are not impressed, you ought to consider another major. And, oh yeah, that line of huge buildings - that is our medical campus, just in case you tweak a knee.
You are absolutely on the mark - Michigan is no. 7 in undergraduate engineering. Georgia Tech and UC-Berkeley are both ranked higher, but when you consider the Big House and the Michigan football program, we should definitely be in the running.
I would think that the kids who are interested in engineering would visit North Campus. It's probably not a common stop amongst kids who are headed into LS&A, but I think it would be a selling point for engineers. However, they'd all have to live on Central Campus, so riding the bus every day would be kind of a pain in the arse.
Speaking of North Campus, have any football players ever been in the School of Music?
Anyone who gets this kid will be extremely fortunate. Even if we don't get him, he is the type of kid you root for wherever he goes. Sounds like Florida will definitely be in the final mix, but I can't imagine he will leave Michigan out. There is absolutelyy no better combo of Engineering and Football. Period. Regardless of his choice, this is a special young man. Keep it up Mr. Lyons.
And now all I can think is how depressingly sad and underachieving I am. :(
This season can't get here fast enough. We've got to get through this NCAA sacntions stuff, hope the Freep doesn't come up with another hack job, into the playing season, and win enough Big Ten games convincingly so we can get past the questions about Rich, and land guys like this.
Oh, and along the way it would help if ND had a shaky start, but I don't think Brian Kelly is one to let that happen.
It sucks that FSU has the shining Rhodes Scholar example ... FSU ...
...Engineering Graduate School Rankings. Hope he wants to be a nuclear or industrial engineering major vice a chemical engineering major. What's not listed is Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. As I understand it, Michigan's program is top 3 at worst.
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Aerospace |
Civil |
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1 |
Cal Tech |
1 |
California |
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1 |
MIT |
2 |
Illinois |
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3 |
Stanford |
3 |
Georgia Tech |
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4 |
Georgia Tech |
3 |
Purdue |
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5 |
Michigan |
3 |
Stanford |
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3 |
Texas |
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8 |
Michigan |
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Chemical |
Electrical |
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1 |
MIT |
1 |
MIT |
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2 |
California |
2 |
Stanford |
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3 |
Cal Tech |
2 |
California |
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3 |
Minnesota |
4 |
Illinois |
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5 |
Stanford |
5 |
Cal Tech |
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NR |
Michigan |
7 |
Michigan |
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Environmental |
Industrial |
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1 |
Stanford |
1 |
Georgia Tech |
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1 |
California |
2 |
Michigan |
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3 |
Illinois |
3 |
California |
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4 |
Texas |
4 |
Northwestern |
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5 |
Georgia Tech |
4 |
Penn State |
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6 |
Michigan |
4 |
Stanford |
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4 |
Virginia Tech |
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Materials |
Mechanical |
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1 |
MIT |
1 |
MIT |
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2 |
Illinois |
2 |
Stanford |
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3 |
Northwestern |
2 |
California |
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4 |
UC-Santa Barbara |
4 |
Cal Tech |
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5 |
Stanford |
5 |
Michigan |
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5 |
California |
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7 |
Michigan |
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Nuclear |
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1 |
Michigan |
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2 |
Wisconsin |
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3 |
MIT |
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4 |
Texas A&M |
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5 |
Penn State |
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5 |
California |
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... what criteria they use to determine the rankings?
Since it's engineering, I'm sure their methodology includes non-dimensional numbers and partial differential equations.
a mixture of votes from the coaches and input from the engineering media.......
PSU engineering was highly regarded when I was there, but that was over a decade ago.
The USNWR grad school rankings are even more methodologically shaky than the undergrad rankings. They literally send a survey out to about 100 faculty in the field and ask them to rank programs. No evaluation of grant levels, no citation statistics, no evaluation of current research being pursued. It's pure reputation amongst faculty, which may be a good way to examine reputation but does very little in terms of evaluating the programs as they stand.
To play devil's advocate, how else do you do it? Grant money or publication records doesn't tell about education. How do you measure the amount of support the faculty get, such as the tech transfer program Michigan has? Sure, it's quick and dirty, but if you ask where the respected faculty are, chances are it's the best schools...maybe?
Yes it's a qualitative assessment, but when the complexity is that great, a qualitative assessment is about the only way to go. Plus, citation statistics and reputation are quite related. And, reputation of the program is what gets the graduate a job (in terms of home program), not current grant levels. Potential employers rate the applicant's home institution qualitatively, thus it makes sense to rank the programs qualitatively.
Two issues: 1. this is assuming that the faculty filling the surveys out give them significant time. In my experience, this is far from the case. They are the equivalent of the coaches poll, complete with graduate students filling out ballots (I know of this happening at least twice, not sure how widespread it is). Anecdote is not the singular of data, to be sure, but it has caused me to regard these rankings very suspiciously.
2. Reputation does not necessarily quality of education. The reputation of the program and the quality of the education it provides are related but not directly. I know that in my own discipline, the USNWR graduate ratings inflate the standing of several departments that have been in decline because they have become disfunctional and have been unable to hire new faculty. They tend to have several important scholars but little breadth among the faculty.
Perhaps reputation is more important in fields like engineering where hiring decisions may (will?) get made substantially on the basis of graduate instutition. That's certainly the case for legal education. It's less so in academic disciplines where reputation remains important but the type and quality of scholarly work is equally so. But even there, one has to be from a top 20 program to be taken seriously.
I actually think I'm talking myself out of this argument, both because reputation is important on the academic job market and because I can't find a way to word this post without seeming to claim that the work students do in law or engineering schools doesn't matter to their post-grad prospects. Let me leave it at this, I wish USNWR would incorporate means in addition to the surveys into their methodology. The dangers of writing and thinking at the same time...
Nuclear Engineering for the win! (NERS '06 and '07 grad here, by the way).
as well.... (Yeah I'm Happy).... But mine is in the only one not ranked in the top ten (Chemical - boo, now I'm sad)..... I can't believe it. All I can tell you is, it was tough!!!!
Congrats on being an alumni of such a great program!
When I was at Michigan in the 70's & 80's, I don't recall Illinois being ranked that highly. They appear to have greatly improved their engineering program.
It has been a long time since I went through the decision process myself (BSE NA&ME '87). I am guessing Webb Institute, and MIT (no football) are #1 and #2. And then there is Berkley, Michigan, and the Naval Academy. Not sure how our NA&ME program compares to UC Berkley, but I know our football program beats both.
NA&ME would be a very unlikely choice. However, much of the US boating industry is in Florida, so it could be possible ...
First question of the 50-questions he (and his mom) give a prospective coach:
"1. What are the typical weather conditions during the football season?"
Ummm....yeah. If these questions are ranked in priority order, we might have a bit of an issue.
It may be that he's always disliked working out and playing in 95 degree weather. He may enjoy a brisk fall. And even if the cold and snow is an issue, we're better off than Wisconsin and Minnesota. At least Ann Arbor rarely gets truly snowed under.
Good point - I am from the south and really like the brisk autumns here in AA. I am, however, skeptical that he is looking for a clime as different from Fla as Michigan is, but it is possible.
When you click on the link, there are multiple weather-related questions. That, to me, isn't a good sign for us. And no, they aren't the type that can be construed positively for a school with a climate like ours. One, for example, asks if there is a special stipend/dispensation to buy winter clothes for kids from Southern states where there are warmer climates who come north for college. I'm pretty sure that's gonna be a "no." There's also a question about the average temperature during football season and the "coldest" your city gets. If it's me, I'm gaming the numbers here- going with the "average" temp from Sept 1- Nov 21, and going with the coldest day in the last year only, or, if that was the coldest day within the last 5 years or something, giving the average coldest day over the past 5 years. Either way, a lot of weather questions.
EDIT: Actually, only three. Here they are.
1. What are the typical weather conditions during the football season?
21. Being that Wayne is from a southern state with a warm climate: Are there any provisions under his scholarship that would provide funds for clothing to accommodate the northern weather?
39. What is the coldest temperature your city gets?
You gotta think that someone like this isn't going to weigh weather too heavily. "I know I can get the best education at UM and have a great chance of being drafted, but it's so chilly. I think I'll go to Florida instead where I don't have to buy new pants."
Weather affects peoples moods and level of happiness. I think they would be wrong to NOT consider local weather. It doesn't have to be the deciding factor, but it should still be a factor.
Guys like this are few and far between. What an impressive perspective he has and love that he is selfless enough to credit his mom and think of his teammates.
Is it just me or is RR getting a bit lucky (or maybe he's smart to target them) to be recruiting all these kids so interested in academics. I'm sure he never had this card to play at WVU...
It's one of the reasons he came here.
LOVE to have a shot at this guy!
when recruits imply that the academic standing of the school they choose is a top priority, but if Lyons is evaluating engineering programs, we will have some stiff competition from Stanford and Cal. Regardless, he's going to make some school very proud in a few years, totally apart from the football field. Hope it's us.
Oh yes, lets have this debate again about FSU and academics! Fun!
Send out the Bouje signal?
But IIRC, Michigan's architecture program and sev. other programs simply couldn't accomodate the practice schedule of football players. I found it interesting that somewhere in the comments on the new basketball practice facility, there was discussion on how having a dedicated facility would open things up for students to take classes that would work out . . . there was more flexibility. (I think this might have affected Puls somewhat.) It would be great if our engineering programs accomodated the demanding practice schedule of football players. I wonder how accomodating the coaches are when academic coursework conflicts with say, the strength training schedule?
Freshmen and Sophomore Engineering Pre-Reqs and intro level engineering courses won't ever be an issue. They're invariably held multiple times a day, MWF, usually early in the morning.
The only thing that might be an issue is taking the slow SB Commuter all the way to south campus. That ride is easily 30 minutes in the afternoon.
And clearly, people can do it. Huyge and Omameh are both engineers.
From what I've read about Rolle's recruitment, the biggest reason that he chose FSU was the emphasis they put on academics and the plan they were able to outline for him to take his choice of classes while playing. He said other schools didn't seem to treat academics as seriously in their sales pitch.
It worked out pretty well for him...
...makes a great point. An emphasis on academics doesn't necessarily mean the recruit is only interested in top tier highly selective schools. It could also mean he wants a program where the student-athlete balance is recognized and honored. Truth be told, one can receive a rock solid education from hundreds of colleges and universities across this great land if the right path is followed and the opportunities that are presented are seized.
What attributes do you feel that Wayne brings to the table?
He is an all around champion.
The questions are a great idea. Best to him wherever he ends up, hopefully here...
as a walk-on that is taking a beating X2; very impressive.
Leach has probably taken his lumps, but considering that he's a potential (and past) starter, I'm sure he takes less of a beating than most walk-ons/practice squad players.
On the practice field, I'll agree. On NC...not a chance. The beatings will continue until morale improves (or they graduate) for engineers.
If he is as seroius about academics as he says he is we will definitely get a look with the great engineering program.
What about the standarized test scores? I remember when my son entered the engineering school the vast majority of students in his class had 700+ on the math while 550+ on the verbal was considered a cut off. An "A" in one school is not necessariky commensurate with an "A" from another. SAT/ACT scores are the great levelers for national evalution of studenrts and the schools they attend. I thinks it's interesteing no mention is made of these tests in the article.
I have never seen an offer list such as the one for Lyons. Does he have a leader or an official visit set for Michigan?
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/recruiting/player-Wayne-Lyons-945…