Running back Marc Tyler: Oaks Christian’s other superstar

BILL SPARKES/Acorn Newspapers JUST LIKE DAD—OCHS running back Marc Tyler, son of former NFL Pro Bowl running back Wendell Tyler, is averaging 13.4 yards per carry for the Lions this season. Just about every guy needs a good wingman.

Batman had Robin. Malone had Stockton. Maverick had Goose.

Oaks Christian quarterback Jimmy Clausen has a wingman, too, and he plays in the same offensive backfield as the star signal-caller.

Marc Tyler, son of former NFL Pro Bowl running back Wendell Tyler, has been lighting up opposing defenses for almost three seasons now.

Tyler, a junior, currently leads the Tri-Valley League in rushing yards (966) and scoring (100 points). The 6-foot-1, 215-pound ball carrier is averaging 13.4 yards per carry this season, which is well above his career 10.6 yards-percarry average, the highest in the history of Oaks Christian football.

“He’s got all the intangibles to be the great running back he is,” Clausen said. “He’s fast. He’s strong. He has great vision. I think he’s a tough running back and that’s what separates him from all of the other running backs in the area and in the nation.”

A rare combination of power and speed, Tyler has the ability to blow past linebackers and defensive backs, or plow through the arms of larger defensive linemen.

“Marc is amazing. He’s better than any running back I’ve ever seen,” offensive tackle Joe Dembesky said. “He has the ability to make you miss with his jukes, or run you over, and he showed that in the Palmdale game. He was just running guys over. It’s unbelievable.”

Last Friday’s 58-14 Lion victory over Palmdale may have been Tyler’s finest performance of the year.

He rushed for 204 yards on 20 carries and scored three touchdowns. Tyler also added 14 tackles and a sack playing linebacker.

“Most people don’t realize that Marc Tyler could probably be one of the most highly recruited linebackers in the country,” OCHS head coach Bill Redell said. “We play him a little bit there, but he’s probably the best linebacker in Southern California.”

Tyler has now rushed for over 150 yards in four of Oaks Christian’s six games this season, including two games of more than 200 yards on the ground. Furthermore, Tyler has scored three touchdowns in each of his last four games.

“Every time I get the ball I just try to run hard,” Tyler said.

Growing up and playing football in Lancaster, Tyler was introduced to some of the greatest players in NFL history at a young age.

Joe Montana. Jerry Rice. Ronnie Lott. All were teammates of his father during the San Francisco 49ers’ glory years of the 1980s.

Wendell Tyler actually played in two Super Bowls during his playing career, losing Super Bowl XIV as a member of the Los Angeles Rams, and winning Super Bowl XIX with the 49ers.

While the younger Tyler wasn’t born before his father’s playing career had ended in 1986, he says getting the chance to hang around some of the all-time greats of the game throughout the years has been a special experience.

“They tell me what it takes to get (to the elite level), how hard I’ve got to work, and to keep working on my grades and stuff,” Tyler said. “Hearing it from those guys means you’ve got to do it because they’ve been there and know what it takes to get there. It’s better for me to listen to those guys.”

Tyler said when he initially decided to attend Oaks Christian, he had no idea what expect from the school or the football program. But he quickly formed a friendship with Clausen and almost immediately realized that the two could form a special pair in the Lion backfield.

“At Palmdale, we used to talk a lot, and when I got here, everyone was real quiet,” Tyler said. “At first I didn’t like it, but after our first game I knew we had a good team. I saw Jimmy play and knew we would have some good kids here.”

After serving mostly as a backup during his freshman year, Tyler rushed for 802 yards, had 830 yards receiving and scored 24 touchdowns as a sophomore.

But his magical season ended on a sour note after he suffered a broken fibula during last year’s Division XI championship game against Oak Park.

After several months of offseason rehab, Tyler is back on his feet and back to carving up defenses who attempt to shut down Clausen and the vaunted Lion passing attack.

Tyler is currently living with Clausen while his family relocates, said Redell. The junior running back has made several recruiting trips to universities such as Tennessee, Notre Dame, USC and UCLA, but has yet to decide on where to attend college.

Tyler said he’s also planning to play baseball for the Lions during the spring.

But before the hardball season gets underway, Tyler still has a few more games to win on the football field in hopes of leading Oaks Christian to its second consecutive CIF title.

Of course, he’ll need some help from his good friend Clausen to earn another championship plaque.

“They are both really talented kids,” Redell said. “They could conceivably be the top two recruits in the country at tailback and at quarterback. I haven’t seen every tailback and quarterback in the country, but if you ask recruiters, they’ll say that Marc Tyler is in the top five and Jimmy may be in the top one.”