Third time's the charm

INDIANAPOLIS – Charlie Strong is set in his ways. So was Michael Dyer.

With the 2015 recruiting class in the books, it’s evident the head coach of the Texas Longhorns knows how to recruit very good football players. And with the NFL draft approaching, it’s even more evident that Strong does more than develop recruits on a football field.

Louisville football has 11 prospects at the NFL Combine this weekend. Like last year when three Strong-era Cardinals were drafted in the first round, every single one of these players is a product of the Charlie Strong era. Of the 11 young men in Indianapolis, one in particular is especially grateful for the former Louisville football coach.

Louisville senior Michael Dyer wasn’t one of Strong’s recruits. Dyer is, however, one of the most powerful examples of Strong’s impact on young men.

In a lot of ways, Dyer is the blue print for the image Roger Goodell yearns to create in his league. He is also the proof of brighter days ahead that Texas fans need after a 6-7 season.

Dyer is the epitome of everything Strong and his five core values represent. Along his journey as a football player, it’s those five tenets, and their enforcer, that transformed the young man underneath that player.

Dyer left the Auburn football program after an undisclosed scandal held him out of the 2011 Chick-Fil-A Bowl. The former Auburn star transferred to Arkansas State but was dismissed from the team by then head coach Gus Malzahn for legal issues regarding a traffic stop. In 2013, Dyer enrolled at Louisville where Coach Strong gave him a third chance.

“Coach Strong did a lot for me and my family. He took me under his wing and let me come back and let me play for him. He gave me an opportunity,” Dyer said. “He sat down with me, talked to me and told me about life and where I needed to be headed.”

Strong was just what Dyer needed when Dyer needed it most. In his first season as a Cardinal, Dyer only rushed for 223 yards on 44 attempts, and scored just two touchdowns.

But after being the 2010 BCS National Championship game MVP, Dyer’s talent certainly suggests more than 200 rushing yards and a pair of scores. Cardinal fans were left wondering why a guy with Dyer’s skill got limited touches.

Some fans argued that it was the offensive playbook. Others blamed his limited impact on the fact that Dyer was only in his first year with the team.

The reality is that Strong was re-molding Michael Dyer as an individual instead of utilizing Michael Dyer the athlete.

“I listened to him and I really took what he said to heart,” Dyer said about his first season at Lousiville. “Even though he wasn’t here that following year (2014) I still really appreciate everything he did for me.”

Unfortunately for Dyer, his college career ended similar to the way his previous stints at Auburn and Arkansas State ended, with a dismissal. However, this time it was due to academic ineligibility before the Belk Bowl. A let down nonetheless, but it was one that didn’t involve violations of public law.

Even after Strong left to coach the Longhorns, Dyer remained in touch with with his former coach, seeking guidance and advice.

“I just talked to Coach Strong a couple days ago. We still talk to this day,” Dyer said. “He was a guy that influenced my family, helped us get back on track and he was there for us at the end of the day. So we really appreciate him.”

Focusing on Dyer’s academic troubles in this instance is too narrow of a lens. Without the opportunity and discipline Strong provided at Louisville, who knows what Dyer’s story would be?

Dyer is not defined by his mistakes. Thanks to Charlie Strong, Dyer is still writing his story and this weekend, that story is at the NFL Combine.