The college recruitment of Southfield-Lathrup football standout Jamal Lyles is starting to heat up in a major way.

On Thursday, Lyles, a lightning-fast outside linebacker prospect, received a trio of BCS offers from Michigan State – following a recent on-campus visit –, Syracuse and Vanderbilt.

These offers are the latest in a long line of BCS schools lining up to try and secure this emerging star's services at the next level. Lyles already has been offered by Penn State, Iowa, Cincinnati, Illinois, Pittsburgh and Stanford. Non-BCS schools like MAC stalwarts, Western Michigan, Akron and Toledo have put offers on the table as well. Less than a few weeks into the summer offseason, Lyles is fast establishing himself as one of the state's most sought after recruits in the Class of 2012.

Last fall as a junior, he made 90 tackles, with five fumble recoveries, two sacks and 13 tackles for loss. Showing off his versatility, Lyles also played some offense, demonstrating equal big-play ability by catching 15 balls for 350 yards and two TDs in 2010.

Lathrup had several successful seasons on the gridiron throughout the 2000s (qualifying for the postseason six times in the decade), but has dropped off in recent years, having not made the playoffs the last four straight campaigns.

The lack of postseason appearances as of late for the Chargers hasn't affected the amount of D1-claiber talent present in the program. In each of the past two seasons there have been players on the roster that have wound up landing college scholarships with BCS schools – WR Montrell Robinson '10 (Cincinatti) and OL Willie Beavers '11 (Illinois).

 

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